Dangerous Secrets
by Kate Angell
Summary: Zero Kiryu is not what he appears be. He comes from a long line of vampire hunters with a huge secret to keep; one that they would rather take to the grave then let certain people uncover. What will he do when a certain pureblood finds out?  Eventual KxZ
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **__First off, I must apologize for not posting the next chapter of Ashes Falling; my laptop is dead and the charger is broken, so I am currently unable to upload. But don't worry! When I get a new charger and actually get my laptop to work, I will finish the chapter and upload it. It just might...take a while. So please, bear with me for the moment. To make up for this, I have a new story for you. There's just a few things you should know about it; one, this will be very, very AU. I'm exploring a new plot bunny that decided to chew on my brain and, well, this is the result. I hope you like the idea, and the coming plot twists._

_As usual, I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others. So, enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Comtemplation.<strong>

Anger, anger and fear. That's what made up his mask at Cross Academy, but it was only that-a mask. Zero was so much more underneath it all. And now he was annoyed. Those stupid nobles. They couldn't control themselves for five minutes? He sighed, watching from the shadows of the treeline as the group of girls rushed past Yuki and knocked her to her knees. He scowled but stayed where he was as Kaname followed the rest of the Night Class through the gates. Hanabusa Aido was entertaining the girls while Kaname approached his adoptive sister and helped her to her feet. He'd been expecting that, really. It was something that Kaname did almost every day. And now he was ruffling her hair like she was some kind of dog.

Zero was across the expanse of grass in seconds and, without thinking, he grabbed the pureblood's wrist, jerking it away from Yuki. The pureblood looked at him. That was it-just looked, no expression at all, not anger or annoyance, or even fear. Just a cold, blank look. Zero glared at him, and hated doing it. "Get to class, Kuran," he said, voice low and calm. Kaname's gaze narrowed and jerked his wrist out of the ex-human's grasp.

"Scary," Kaname muttered, the corners of his lips lifting up. Zero swore the vampire was almost smiling, but Kaname turned and walked away before he could make sure, calling over his shoulder, "Mr. Prefect."

Zero scoffed at that and looked away, hands shoved into his pockets. He hated having to be rude and angry all the time. It was wearing on his will-power. And the frequent bouts of bloodlust were not helping things. In fact, Zero swore they were getting worse. Even now, he could feel the burning in his chest and the dryness of his throat. He swallowed, watching as Kaname joined the Night Class and the vampires continued on to class before he turned on a few lingering Day Class students and yelled at them to get back to their dorms. They scurried off, momentarily cowed. Oh, how he hated this mask.

"Zero?" Yuki asked, worried as he swayed. Zero glanced towards her, then looked towards the sky. The sun was setting. He turned away, scowling, but she grabbed his arm, halting him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied, jerking his arm away from her. "It's time to patrol-go take the Sun Dorms area, will you? I'll be on the balcony later. Meet you there?" Before she could answer, he disappeared into the trees, leaving Yuki standing in the middle of the pathway, alone. She would be fine, though. Or at least, Zero hoped so. He had some sleep to catch up on and some pills to take. Not that they did much good for him; his body rejected them, and he thought he knew why. Maybe he would finally have some peace once he got to the stables.

"Kiryu." Apparently not.

Zero groaned and turned towards where he knew the pureblood was. He found Kaname leaning against a tree to his left, arms crossed and one foot pressed against the trunk, knee bent. He raised an eyebrow at the pureblood before he continued walking. "I have nothing to say to you, Kuran." He paused to spare the other vampire a glance. "Now, aren't you supposed to be in class?" Without waiting for an answer, Zero started walking again, finding his way to the stables easily. Kuran followed, his presence an annoying buzz in Zero's ears. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

Kuran seemed to consider the question for a moment as he followed Zero right up to the building, yet paused outside, lounging in the doorway as Zero fell to sit on a pile of hay beside his horse's stall. "Because something about you bugs me, Kiryu." The look the boy gaze him made Kaname frown. Why did Zero look so scared and panicked? It wasn't like the pureblood wanted to harm him. Yet.

Zero chuckled, turning onto his side and presenting his back to the pureblood. "I wonder what makes you think that," he muttered, more to himself and White Lily than anyone else- especially the pureblood. He snorted and shot the pureblood a glare, even if it killed him. "Now, if you would kindly leave. Don't you have a class of bloodsuckers to keep under control?" He didn't wait for the pureblood to reply, resolutely ignoring the pureblood's presence and closing his eyes, trying to get at least some sleep before it was time for the morning change-over. It was just another day and Cross Academy.

The pureblood sighed and pushed away from the wall, scowling. Zero was already asleep-or rather, pretending to be. Kaname knew he was doing this just to get him to leave. Such a rude ex-human. Really, he shouldn't have expected any better from _this _boy. Shaking his head and smiling slightly, because he couldn't help it, really, Kaname turned and headed back to class. He would leave the boy to his sulking-not that Zero would admit to it, but Kaname did know what sulking was when he saw it. So Kaname left and returned to class, ignoring all the looks and whispered comments he received as he strode into the room and up to his seat near the back of the room. The chair, with its back to the last window at the back of the room, faced the crowd of vampires lingering about the room. Kaname sat down and accepted his books from Seiren, opening one to the page he'd bookmarked, leaving the rest of his books in his lap. He was well aware of the conversations going on around him, but chose to ignore them. They weren't important when compared to Zero and his strange behaviour. The pureblood was sure that Zero was hiding something. Probably from everyone, not just the Night and Day Classes, but also from his adoptive father and sister. Kaname wasn't surprised. After all, he was keeping a few dangerous secrets of his own.

In regards to Zero, though, the pureblood was curious. The ex-human had slipped up a few times in the past. Kaname had noticed; he was a pureblood, he noticed almost everything. But the amount of times Zero had not shot him a dark look, a glare or some other similar kind of not-so-nice expression over the four years Kaname had known him for far outweighed the amount of dark looks, glares and similar not-so-nice expressions. There was also the times when Kiryu had been nice to him, actually nice, instead of rude and arrogant. It made for a refreshing change, but it was also odd. Zero openly proclaimed his hatred of vampires-to Cross, Yuki and the Night Class, at least. He made no secret of his dislike of vampires, even himself. But sometimes, just sometimes, he slipped up. And Kaname noticed it. The pureblood found it strange; why would Zero try to be angry and fearful of vampires all the time, yet slip up and say the strangest things, things that could be or almost be called nice? Kaname shook his head. It was confusing. Did Zero have some kind of secret he didn't want to be known? Something to hide? Maybe it was related to his past? Kaname didn't know, but he would find out eventually, as he usually did.

"Kaname-sama?" Kaname looked up, directing his gaze towards the teacher. The elderly vampire look annoyed as he watched the pureblood in question for a moment. Kaname sighed yet again. "Kaname-sama, could you please answer the question on the board?" The pureblood glanced at the board and proceeded to answer the equation written on it. Honestly, it was far too easy for him, and probably the rest of the class, yet the teacher didn't seem affected by the obvious disappointment of his students. He continued his lesson and left the pureblood alone. Clearly, Kaname had better things to think about other than Math. Like what a certain ex-human could be hiding.

Meanwhile, Yuki was patrolling near the Sun Dorms, a scowl on her face. Where was Zero? He was supposed to have meet her at the balcony, but he'd never turned up. Yuki snorted and skipped down another pathway. He was probably sleeping again or something. He did that a lot; skipped out on patrol and slept through all his classes. Yuki was surprised that he wasn't failing. Then again, he was good at everything and was even nice enough to help her with her Math on occasion. Yuki liked it when he helped her; it meant they got some brother-sister bonding time. Hopefully without their adoptive father lurking around. He was such a pain sometimes. Yuki didn't know how Zero could even put up with the man-he drove her up the wall sometimes, he was that bubbly and erratic.

Yuki sighed, making her way back up to the balcony. It was after midnight and it seemed like it was going to be quiet for the rest of night and she didn't mind. It meant that hopefully she could go to bed early so that she didn't fall asleep in class again. Gods, that was embarrassing. She really hoped Yori wouldn't whisper things in her ear again like last time. Yuki wouldn't forgive the other girl for the lunch one-for a few hours, at least. She had been given after school classes that day, and Zero, too, but her annoying adopted brother had skipped out on it. Just like he was skipping out on patrol again tonight.

"Hello Yuki."

The female prefect looked up with a gasp, startled to find Zero standing with his arms crossed by the balcony railing, his gaze fixed on the windows of the classroom behind her-and, if Yuki was reading it right, Kaname. Zero grimaced when she tackled him from the side, almost knocking him into the railing. "Zero!"

"Geez, Yuki," he muttered, brushing her off with a small laugh. "What have been you been eating lately? Concrete?" Predictably, Yuki blushed and punched his arm, muttering about him being stupid. Zero didn't mind. This was Yuki. Sure, he knew what she really was, but still. He couldn't help but adore her, as childishly human as she was right now. "Oh, come now. I didn't mean it like that."

"Zero," she chided, laughing. Zero spared her one of his brilliant, meaningful _real _smiles before returning his gaze to the Night Class. "So, it seems everyone is well behaved tonight, doesn't it?" Zero grunted in reply, not really listening anymore. Yuki nudged him and his gaze drifted back to her. She gave him a huge smile before leaning on the railing, gaze now on Kaname.

Zero watched her for a moment, half-smiling before his gaze locked onto her neck and her had to force himself to look away. He took a moment to regain his composure before murmuring to Yuki, "You should head to bed. I can handle the rest of the patrol for tonight." He smiled again, this time more subdued. "You need the rest more than I do." And, Yuki being Yuki, she didn't protest as she skipped off inside and to her room, leaving Zero alone on the balcony outside the classroom. He sighed and moved to lean heavily on the balcony railing. He had taken more blood tablets earlier only to throw them back up, making him weaker than he had been upon waking up that morning.

A strange sensation brushed along his skin and he looked up, only to find Kaname gazing back at him. And this time, the pureblood's expression wasn't blank. It was _worried_, worried and confused. Kaname frowned at him for a moment, and Zero frowned back. Then the pureblood looked away, his attention taken by something in the room. Zero didn't care; he wanted to sleep, but he wasn't going to do so in the presence of other vampires. All it took was one careless mistake and _bam_, his dangerous secret would be revealed. He really did not need that happening any time soon. It would attract more danger than he wanted, or needed. And he had enough danger on his hands. After all, there were a group of vampires on campus. Vampires he didn't, and couldn't, trust. Yet.

Kaname's gaze flickered past him and Zero glanced over his shoulder. He cursed. What had he just told Yuki? He'd told her to go to bed! What was she doing down there, standing between two vampires and a couple of Day Class students? Without thinking, Zero turned and planted a hand on the railing, launching himself over it and dropping to the ground. He landed soundlessly and approached the small group of students, both Day and Night Class. He put the barrel of his gun to Aido's head just after he bit Yuki. "What did I say about drinking blood on school grounds?" he demanded calmly, pressing harder against the other vampire's temple.

"Kiryu, put the gun down." Zero hesitated, gaze flickering to the pureblood who had just stepped onto the scene. "Hanbusa, Akatsuki. You two should know better." Kaname glanced towards the girls before he fixed a dark look on Aido. The blond vampire cringed, looking away. Kaname took it as a sign of guilt-which he knew anyway, since he could smell the blood from Yuki and the guilt pouring off Hanbusa-before calmly turning to meet Zero's gaze. "I will deal with these impulsive idiots. Seiren, take he girls to Cross. He'll know what to do."

Zero nodded and withdrew his gun, tucking it back into the holster her wore beneath his school jacket. "I'll leave them to you, then, Kuran." He proceeded to take in the scene, noting Kain's silent embarrassment in the background before her grabbed Yuki and shoved her towards the Sun Dorms. "Go to bed. How many times must I say it?" She pouted at him while he just gave her a half-hearted glare. Yuki turned and ran off in the direction of the dorms, leaving five vampires in various states of emotion and two unconscious Day Class girls in her wake.

When Zero turned around, he found only Kaname still standing there. The pureblood scanned him, top to bottom, before half-turning away. "You and I will be having a talk soon, Kiryu," he warned before disappearing into the shadows. Zero could only hope the pureblood was going back to class-either that, or he was headed to Cross with his little pair of trouble makers. He frowned. What had Kaname meant by _that_? Zero wasn't sure, but he sure as hell hoped the pureblood hadn't picked up on anything. Then again, from the whole "having a talk" comment, he had to assume that Kaname was suspicious of something. Probably Zero himself. He certainly didn't act like any old ex-human, did he? Smothering a sigh, Zero turned to head back to his patrol. He should probably try and sleep, but it would be useless. Every day, he went to sleep later and later, so much so that he was starting to sleep during the day and stay awake pretty much all night. He knew he should have been used to it, but still. He was trying to pretend to be human, here. Not raise everyones' suspicions even more. Well, he might as well get on with it, then. The grounds weren't going to patrol themselves-and the vampires probably wouldn't stay in class for long either. Despite having a pureblood on campus, there were still vampires who didn't follow him. Zero was one of them.

Back in the Night Class, some of the nobles were getting restless. It was almost time for them to return to the Moon Dorm, and their leader, the pureblood, wasn't there. Takuma frowned at the other vampires in the room, glancing towards the teacher as he dismissed the class and left the room. The Vice President of the Moon Dorms abruptly stood and headed for the door, attracting the attention of several others. He paused by the door, taking in those present and those who were missing. "Please return to the dorms while I report to Kaname-sama," he announced, bowing to the room before slipping out the door and heading off down the hall towards Cross's office. It wasn't too far of a walk before he arrived at the Chairman's office and slowly pushed the door open, slipping into the room.

"Ah, Takuma," Cross said, smiling at the green-eyed vampire. "About time you turned up." The ex-hunter gestured to Kaname and the two cringing nobles who stood to one side. "Takuma, could you escort these two back to the dorms while I talk to Kaname-san?" Takuma nodded and made to open the door but paused when Kaname moved.

"One moment, Cross," Kaname said and turned to Aido. There was a loud crack and Aido whimpered. The pureblood had backhanded the ice-wielding blond. "Do not attack Yuki again. If you do, I will punish you with more than a slap. Consider this your final warning, Aido." Kaname nodded to Takuma. "You may leave now." The trio of nobles swiftly left and Kaname turned back to Cross. "Now, where were we?"

Cross seemed to think for a moment before returning to his seat and gazing at Kaname over the tops of his tented fingers. "I believe you were asking after Zero's well-being?" he asked, titling his head to one side. The pureblood nodded and took a seat across from the ex-hunter. Kaien dropped his gaze and shuffled around some papers on his desk before looking up again and meeting the pureblood's gaze.

"Ah, yes," Kaname murmured, inclining his head. "That is what I wanted to talk to you about." He fell silent for a moment, considering his next words carefully. How was he going to ask the man about this without giving away exactly what he wanted and what did not want to reveal? He sighed. "I am worried about him. It's been four years, hasn't it? Why hasn't he attacked another student, a human, yet?" He paused, considering the situation. "Kiryu has remarkable will-power to withstand such torment for so long, but I'm afraid it's starting to wear him down." Kaname adopted a suitable worried expression, watching as the other man echoed it. It seemed he was worried about Kiryu, too. "It has come to my attention that the blood tablets aren't working for him. If this is so, I'm afraid he may attack someone, and soon." Kaname paused, considering his next words even more carefully. "When he attacks someone, probably Yuki-I have no doubt it will be her-then call for me. I will help him."

Cross seemed to consider the pureblood's words for a long moment, absently sipping his cup of tea or fiddling with his paperwork. Kaname began to worry that the man wouldn't consent to this compromise. "I can't promise that he will like or appreciate this offer, Kaname," Cross finally said, putting down his tea and paperwork to give the pureblood a stern look. Kaname nodded; he understood this. "When he attacks someone, I will call for you." Kaien gave the vampire a long look before dropping his gaze to the papers scattered across his desk. "Now, I believe you should be heading back to your dorms. It's getting very late and I'm afraid the sun is close to rising."

The pureblood nodded and rose, turning for the door. He paused with one hand on the door handle and turned back to Cross. "Oh, and Cross?"

"Yes, Kaname?"

"Do you have any reason to believe that Zero may be more than he seems?" Kaname's question was almost vague, and it made the ex-hunter frown, as if to say 'why, whatever do you mean, Kaname?'. The pureblood shook his head and turned away. "Nevermind, Chairman. Goodnight." With that, he left the office and headed back to the Moon Dorms. He had a fool of a Noble to punish. Perhaps cleaning the restrooms would suit Aido's tastes?


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/U:**And here's the next chapter. Sorry it took so long, but here you go. Enjoy._

_As usual, I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others.  
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><p><strong>Chapter 2: "It just isn't right."<strong>

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>"It just isn't right, Kain,"<strong>_ Aido muttered, flopping down on the chaise lounge in the entrance hall. "That prefect snuck up on us and we didn't even hear him!"

Kain scowled and shook his head, sending his cousin a condescending look. "I heard him perfectly fine. _You _didn't," he stated, rolling his eyes. "You were too distracted by the scent of Yuki's blood."

Aido glared at his cousin, ice blue eyes narrowed into slits. Kain gazed back rather calmly. The pair didn't appear to notice, let alone acknowledge, the trio of vampires entering the room from outside. They frowned at the pair engaged in a staring contest before Takuma, the one leading his two female companions, strode forward and smacked the both of them across the back of the head.

"What would Kaname-sama say if he saw you two throwing a temper tantrum like this?" he demanded, scowling. The pair scowled at him-Aido more than Kain-before they both looked away. Hanabusa eyed the glass that had been set down beside him by one of the maids who lingered throughout the Moon Dorm. "That's what I thought," Takuma added, taking his own seat between the bickering vampires. Ruka and Rima took the chaise lounge across from Takuma and Aido, Ruka's gaze flickering to Kain as he stood stiffly off to one side, popping blood tablets into five glasses of water, Aido already having his own.

"Are you talking about that annoyingly insolent Kiryu boy?" Ruka asked with a darkly disgusted look on her face. Aido shot her a dark look of his own as he dropped a couple of blood tablets into his glass. She scowled back at him, but there was no real heat behind it.

Takuma flicked a glance from one member of the group to the next, eventually coming to rest on Aido. "Well?" he asked, narrowing his gaze at the other vampire, before falling back into his cheerful personality and suddenly smiling as Senri Shiki entered the room. He brightened as Senri made his way over to Takuma and joined the other noble on his chair, sitting on the arm and placing one hand on Takuma's shoulder. "Senri, how did it go?" he added, referring to the other vampire's photo shoot scheduled for earlier that evening.

"Well," was all Senri said before accepting the glass that Kain offered him and taking a sip. The blood tablets tasted foul, but it was what Kaname wanted them to test, and so they did. Without question. Such was a pureblood's power over other vampires of lower status. They didn't mind, not at all. They would lay their lives down for him; they trusted him, and he trusted them in return. It's partly why they were Kaname's inner circle.

The group relaxed slightly as Aido proceeded to take a sip of his own drink, making a face at the taste before downing all of it and putting the glass aside. "As I was saying earlier," he muttered, breaking the tense silence that had begun to build amongst the group of friends. "There's something up with Kiryu," he said, glaring down at his lap where one hand lay, curled up into a fist.

Ruka snorted, darkly amused. "There's always something up with Kiryu," she said in a condescending tone. "It's not unusual by now, Hanbusa. We all know this." Aido sent a scowl her way, and she glared back. Takuma sighed, wondering if he was going to have to intervene again, but the hand on his shoulder tightened and he glanced up at Senri, giving him a somewhat thankful glance.

"That's not what I meant, Ruka, and you know it!" Aido snapped, pushing to his feet. He stood glaring at her, chest heaving and his hands clenched into fists by his side. She continued to glare back, more calmly than Aido was. He calmed down slowly and proceeded to start pacing between the two lounges. "What I meant is that he's too damn quiet, even to our hearing. And he always looks like he's in pain or something, like it hurts to be near us." Aido frowned, pausing with his back to the group. "And have _any _of you _seen _the way he sometimes looks at Yuki? Especially her neck, like he wants to _eat _her?"

The small group of vampires exchanged glances and frowns. What was Aido getting at here? Did he mean to stay that maybe, just maybe, Kiryu wasn't what they thought? Wasn't jsut human and a Hunter? Ruka didn't look like she liked that idea and Rima and Senri just looked bored like they normally did while Kain was frowning at his cousin's back and Takuma was giving the blond ice-wielding vampire a thoughtful look. And it was Takuma who spoke up now.

"He does have a point, you know," Takuma said slowly, thoughtfully, one hand holding his chin up and his elbow perched on his knee. "Kiryu has been acting rather oddly lately." He looked at everyone in turn, including Aido, who had turned around when Takuma began speaking. "It's not exactly something I can put my finger on...but he does seem to turn up at the most inopportune moments, like when you bit Yuki earlier." Takuma glanced towards the others, a curious look on his face. "I've seen him touching his chest as if it hurt, sometimes his throat. But he's never really seemed ill to me. Pair that with the pained looks, and doesn't it sound a lot like-?"

"Bloodlust," Aido finished quickly, interrupted the other vampire before he could finish. "Exactly! That's what it is. Didn't any of you notice it? Other than Takuma, that is..." He eyed the others just as Takuma had done earlier.

Senri seemed to perk up at that and frowned at Aido, the rare show of emotion making all of his friends pause for a moment. "Hanabusa, are you trying to tell us that you think Kiryu is a vampire?" he asked and Aido nodded.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to say, Senri!"

"Hanabusa," Kain began slowly, frowning at his cousin from where he still stood off to one side. "If that's true, than wouldn't that make him an ex-human, and therefore dangerous to the Day Class members?"

Again, the group exchanged glances and frowns. Kiryu...was a vampire? An ex-human? Did Kaname know? And if he did, why was he letting Zero stay in the Moon Dorm with the others? Aido didn't like it, and from the looks on most of his friend's faces, they didn't either. Ruka especially, if the look on _her _face was anything to go by. They couldn't let him stay in the Sun Dorms, and they wouldn't leave it be, either. If he really was a vampire, then they'd have to find out and do something about it-Takuma especially, since he was technically the Vice-President of the Moon Dorms. And he had no doubt that Kaname would trust him to do something about the Prefect. Takuma had a feeling that the prefect may have been battling it for longer than anyone suspected, but he'd have to talk to Kiryu first. Besides, they couldn't risk leaving an unbalanced ex-human alone for long. Kaname couldn't. It could, and probably would, screw with the tedious balance the Night Class and the Day Class shared within the Academy, let alone the precarious situation Kaname could find himself in with his whole "co-existence" line in the vampire world. That was only if anything happened and word got out. The blood tablets _did _work, and if anything happened to make the other vampires doubt that... They had to do something, before anything went wrong. Before Kiryu began to fall.

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><p><em><strong>Zero leaned against the alley wall, <strong>_panting hard enough to make his chest heave. Luckily, he'd already thrown up and this was only the after-effects. But it still hurt like hell and made his head spin. Oh, how he hated that, hated how the stupid blood tablets didn't work for him and how they made him weaker than before. How they left his lust for blood stronger than before he took those stupid, stupid pills.

Finally, his little fit ended and he straightened up, pushing away from the wall. He swayed slightly before forcing himself away from the wall and further down the alley. The E was around somewhere, he knew it was. He could _feel _it, lurking just out of eyesight, but clearly not out of range of his other senses, both vampire and hunter. It was _waiting _for him. Zero reached for the Bloody Rose, not at all liking that fact. If it was waiting for him, then it wasn't a good thing. It probably thought he'd make a nice, tasty meal, and considering the little show he'd just put on, the E probably thought he would make easy prey. Really, it only made the job easier.

Movement at the end of the alley made Zero pause mid-step and quickly scan the darkened area again. This part of town was unnaturally quiet, and the silence was eating at him. As was the smell of blood-rotting, decayed and half-dry blood and other things. Zero made a face as those smell reached him, raising his currently unoccupied hand to cover his mouth and nose. It was disgusting, and it would hinder his search. But it would also help. The nastier and stronger smell got, the closer he was, and Zero was in no doubt that he was very close now. As it was, it was almost enough to make him gag all over again. How could anyone _not _notice this, let alone _live _with it?

Suddenly, the E was in front of him, having launched itself out of the shadows from his left. It was a woman, her eyes feral and her dark hair dirty and all tangled up. Zero started, dodging the first swipe of claws but falling on the second. They cut through his shirt, grazing his stomach. He hadn't expected her to go for that area. Quickly, he skipped back a step, dodging another set of slashes aimed for his neck and shoulder before manging to take aim and pull the trigger. The E fell back with a howl, clutching at her shoulder as she fell against the wall.

And that was when he hesitated. She looked like Yuki, he realised belatedly. The E stared up at him in pain and confusion for a spilt second while they watched each other. Why did he have to think about Yuki right now? _This E wasn't Yuki, damnit! _And Yuki was technically a pureblooded vampire bound in human form, with no memory of who or what she truly was! _Geez, Zero, get a grip, would you? You're gonna get yourself killed._ The warning was almost lost in a roar as the E pushed off the wall and threw herself at him again. Again, he dodged her first attack only to fall victim to the second one, and this time her claws caught his shoulder and neck, and sank in, _deeply_.

Zero hissed, twisting to try and dislodge her, but nothing worked. She remained firmly planted, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there. Looking up into her glowing, feral, blood red eyes, Zero could see her intent. She was going to drain him dry-and suddenly, she paused, inhaling deeply. A second later, her expression shifted to confusion. Zero didn't relax; she wasn't completely insane yet, but he was still wary. What was the E up to now?

"You smell...odd..." she growled, lowering her face to his neck and one of the many cuts she'd made. She inhaled again and her eyes fluttered closed, as if she were enraptured. Zero froze; could she somehow smell his true heritage within his tainted human-turned-ex-human blood? He certainly hoped she didn't, but what she started to say next made his blood run cold. "You almost smell like a p-"

Two shots rang out in quick succession and the E dissolved into dust, coating Zero in it. He had manged to get his gun up and in line with her heart before pulling the trigger, cutting her off mid-sentence. The last thing he needed was someone, anyone, overhearing what she had been about to say. Beside, her hesitation had given him the perfect moment to strike, and so he'd taken it. After a few seconds of intense panic, but he wasn't about to admit that. He lay there for a long moment, glad that he'd gotten to the E before she'd devoured anyone else. Eventually, he realised dimly that he was bleeding out in a dark alley where any vampire within range could smell him. And that he was losing blood. _Fast_, if the dizzy and lightheadedness was anything to go by.

Slowly, Zero struggled up onto his feet and stumbled, falling into the wall. One thing he hated about not being his true self? His fast healing. He'd give anything to be free of that stupid curse on his family. He was pretty sure his brother had escaped it; he'd _felt _the subtle change in him, the _shift _from human to vampire. He couldn't explain it, though. He hadn't really seen his brother in years, ever since that pureblood had attacked his family and bitten him. It had only been him, and Zero still wasn't sure why. It was probably an attempt to help him. Obviously, it had only made him an ex-human and not his true self. Zero knew the clause for the curse, and he wasn't exactly keen on breaking it, even if it meant returning to his true form. He'd have to give up a few things to do that, and it wasn't something to just give lightly either.

Zero pushed away from the wall, stumbling off down the alley. He had to get back to the Academy and lock himself in his room or he'd attack someone. He'd already been suffering from his bloodlust, and now it was worse. Now it was _very bad_. He was very unstable now and very weak, and bleeding profusely. He needed blood, and soon. But he would deny himself. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He just needed to get back to his room and stay there while he healed. He didn't care that he'd miss a few days of classes, or Prefect duty. Zero just needed to be somewhere safe, both so his secret would remain intact and that he wouldn't harm anyone. He was dangerous right now; he knew that. And he wasn't going to risk anything, so he stumbled along slowly, headed back to the Academy where he'd hopefully make it to his rooms before anyone-namely the other vampires- could see or smell him and lock himself in. It was the only way he'd know for sure that he hadn't hurt someone or been found out in the morning, or whenever he _did _wake up.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Aido peered around the tree with a frown,<strong>_ watching the prefect as he stumbled through the main gates of Cross Academy. Kiryu was wobbling slightly and he stumbled often, making Aido's frown deepen. Was the hunter wounded? The noble glanced towards his partners in crime. It was fairly earlier in the evening and instead of being in class, they were staking out the main gates, waiting for Kiryu to come back. The group had not seen him at class changeover, and had overheard Yuki talking to Kaname about Kiryu going out on some kind of errand for the Chairman. Had she meant he was hunting? Apparently she had, if the way Kiryu was stumbling around meant anything. And apparently he _was _wounded. The trio could smell blood now, and it was definitely _not _any of theirs.

"He doesn't look too good," Kain murmured to his cousins as they watched the Prefect trip over his own feet and fall to his knees, leaning into the tree he'd practically collapsed by. Kiryu was holding his neck and shoulder, no the untattoed side of body, and if Kain was seeing that right, Kiryu was bleeding. Rather badly. "In fact, I think he's bleeding... Do you think he needs help?"

All three turned to watch Zero and he panted, leaning on the tree for support. Aido and Ruka agreed with Kain. Kiryu really did look bad, and he was bleeding. Ruka snorted and crossed her arms. Clearly, she wasn't going to be helping the prefect, but she'd stick around while she waited for her cousins. Kain, on the other hand, really felt that he should do something. With or without the help of his cousin. Aido had a similar notion to Ruka, though.

"He is bleeding," Aido commented, taking a quick sniff and freezing to the spot when Kiryu looked into the trees. "And I think he knows we're here..." Kain and Ruka quickly followed their cousin's gaze and also froze. Kiryu was, indeed, looking in their general direction, but there was also something indefinably off about him, and none of the trio could put their finger on it. "I think he needs help," Aido admitted stiffly, but without looking as though he was about to go and help.

With a sigh, Kain moved forwards, towards the boy on his knees by a tree. Kiryu looked up when he get close, but Kain stayed just out of reach, frowning at what h e could now see clearly. He hadn't been sure a moment ago, but now he was. Kiryu's eyes were, indeed, glowing red with bloodlust. And Kiryu wasn't even trying to hide it. "Are you alright, Kiryu?" he asked, eyeing the boy before him carefully. Kiryu seemed to consider him and the words for a moment before shaking his head slightly.

"Nope," Zero groaned softly, "not at all." He leaned more heavily against the tree, pressing harder against the almost healed wounds on his neck and shoulder. They were mostly closed, but they still bled sluggishly. Zero didn't like it at all. And to have three noble vampire find him like this was even worse. He did not like to be seen as venerable in their presence. At all. "Ugh. I feel like crap," he added, tilted his head back against the tree. His eyes fluttered to half-mast in pain and he shuddered slightly, biting his lip. This was, by far, the worst case of bloodlust he'd had since he'd been bitten, and he definitely wasn't liking it.

The three nobles exchanged glances, confusion and worry evident in Kain's, at least. He studied the prefect for a moment with a frown. "You're an ex-human?" he asked, beating Aido to it. He didn't want the ice-wielding blond asking that question; he'd be not-as-nice and press when he shouldn't, and probably make it awkward for all of them. Zero didn't even bother to deny it, opening his eyes and fixing Kain with a look that clearly said_ 'duh, isn't it obvious, stupid?' _before his eyes fluttered shut and he inhaled through his teeth, digging his nails into the tree. _Elongated nails_-a vampire's nails. Kain swallowed and glanced at Ruka and Aido. They_ had _to _do something_, didn't they?

"We should just leave him," Aido said, arms crossed as he eyed the boy before him. "He'll be fine once he takes some tablets, right? We shouldn't bother Kaname-sama with it." Kiryu was a vampire, and so what if he was in bloodlust? He'd get over it; he'd take the tablets like everyone else, right? And then he'd be okay...only, Kiryu wasn't moving to do so, let alone even looking like he was considering it.

"Hanabusa!" Kain hissed, but Aido was noticing something his cousin hadn't. He frowned as he watched Zero, whose eyes were open again and staring at him, the red bright in the darkness of the trees. Kain shifted uncomfortably as those eyes rested on Aido for a long moment before they moved away and closed again. Kiryu was tense, trying very hard not to move. And if Kain was correct in his guess, Kiryu really did not like the idea of taking the tablets. Especially if the look that passed over his face was anything to go by.

"Wait," Aido muttered, crouching in front of the ex-human, still frowning. Kiryu watched him through narrowed eyes. "You can't take them, can you?" he asked, but Kiryu gave nothing away. "They make you sick, don't they?" This time, Kiryu merely nodded before his eyes slipped closed again and he growled lowly. It was a warning, telling them not to get too close.

Kain hissed out a breathe. "Damn," he said and scratched his head. "That isn't good... What're we supposed to do now?" he asked, glancing towards Aido and Ruka, who hung back from them. "Should we let Kaname-sama know?"

Zero panicked, and, unable to hide it, his eyes flew open and fixed on Kain, clearly distressed. "No," he rasped, struggling to stand. "Do not tell _him_." He manged to stand before he fell back against the tree and, with a gasp, slid down it a little. "Please...just don't tell him..."

Kain and Aido exchanged a loaded glance. Kiryu didn't want Kaname to know? That was...strange. Why didn't he want the pureblood to know? Was he hiding something? Or was Kaname the one who had turned him? Kain saw the intent in Aido's eyes seconds before the noble fixing Zero with a dark look.

"Did Kaname-sama turn you, Kiryu? Is that why you don't want him to know? Did he bite you and take blood from you?" Aido's tone said he wasn't joking, that this was a Very Serious Problem that Need To Be Fixed, and he'd do his best to do just that. But Zero flinched and shook his head, opening his mouth and then swiftly shutting it as he stared at Aido, still panicked but not exactly radiating guilt. Just...shame? Why would he be shameful?

"No," Zero whispered after a long, tense moment while Aido stared at him. The noble had been patiently waiting for an answer, and that wasn't what he expected. "Not Kuran... Pureblood female...four years ago." Aido's gaze widened and he looked towards Kain, who was also sporting an equally shocked look. Ruka, if the pair cared to look back, was also looking rather shocked, and slightly impressed. Aido knew he wasn't lying; he couldn't detect one. So...it was the truth, but really..._four years_? Kiryu had been suffering through this for four years? Kain almost whistled but restrained himself. That took a lot of will power, restraining yourself for that long. "Oh, god... Please, just don't tell Kaname..." Zero closed his eyes again, right on the verge of too-far-gone and not realising he'd slipped up. A few more moments, and he really would lose control and attack someone.

"Damn," Kain repeated and gave Aido a long look. "I think he needs our help, don't you?" Aido frowned at his cousin, quickly rising to his feet. "If it's true that he can't take the tablets, then he needs blood. _Real _blood." He gestured to where Kiryu leaned against the tree. "He could fall at any moment, you know that, right, Aido?"

Aido stared at his cousin for a moment. "And giving him blood will help? How do we know he's not falling anyway?" he asked, and Kain gave him a long-suffering look that said _'just do it, Aido' _before the blond scowled and shook his head. "Fine, but I'm not doing it. And I'm definitely not telling Kaname-sama about this."

"Takuma, then," Kain said and moved towards Zero cautiously. The ex-human in question's eyes flew open as Kain slid an arm around him and pulled the prefect away from the tree. Zero didn't protest as Kain held him upright and moved a few slow steps away from the tree. He was worried that the prefect would snap at him, but amazingly, Zero just sagged against him. It told him just how bad the ex-human was. "Someone go get him." Ruka said she would and promptly disappeared, leaving Aido and Kain alone with a very hungry ex-human vampire.

"Hurry," Zero whispered, his voice strained. "I don't know...how much longer...I can resist...it." Kain didn't need to be a genius to know what he meant by that, and he didn't waste time either, quickly slipping into vampire speed and heading for the Moon Dorms. It was a dangerous and probably stupid idea, but it was the only good one they had. After all, where else could they take an injured and starving vampire but the Moon Dorms, regardless of the fact that everyone thought said vampire wasn't a vampire? Yeah, it _was _a stupid idea.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Takuma was in class when Ruka <strong>_came rushing in. He figured she needed to tell Kaname something important, but she surprised him by heading straight for him, and whispering to him quickly that Kiryu was injured and needed help. Then she vanished back out of the classroom, leaving him sitting there, rather stunned for a moment before it sank in. Zero was injured? What? How? But that was all she'd said, injured and nothing more. Eyes suddenly wide, Takuma made to said, and was halted by the only pureblood in the room, Kaname.

"Takuma? Is something wrong?"

The noble in question glanced towards his friend and gave a barely there nod before gesturing for Kaname to join him outside. Kaname watched his friend for a moment before he stood and the pair left the room; he'd overheard Ruka when she came in to speak to his friend, but luckily he'd been the only one other than Takuma. And now he was worried; had she said Zero was _injured_? That didn't sound good at all, and with him being an ex-human... Kaname didn't want to consider any complications that might arise.

"Zero's injured, Kaname," Takuma said softly after the door closed behind them. "I don't know how bad, but Ruka is worried; he's not exactly himself, and he could be dangerous to the other students, human and vampire alike." Kaname smiled softly, touching Takuma's shoulder.

"I know he's an ex-human, Takuma," he told his friend. "I've always known."

Takuma smiled softly before his expression became serious. "If he is one, then he needs blood." The blond noble gave Kaname a strange look, as if considering what the pureblood would do. "Yours would be best, but that wouldn't exactly be right, letting a pureblood give their blood to an ex-human..."

"He wouldn't take it anyway, Takuma." Kaname's gaze said it all; he actually cared for the boy somewhat, and wanted to help, but the boy in question kept refusing. He really wanted the prefect to not hate him, but he doubted the boy's opinion would change anytime soon. But still, one had to hope, right? And there was still the matter of his sister, bound in human form and ignorant of who and what she was. He had time, he supposed. "Why don't you offer yours instead? You're almost as powerful as I am, and you definitely don't have any of the taboos that a pureblood does."

Takuma gave his friend a mostly unreadable look. "Are you giving me permission to help Ze- Kiryu?" he asked, astonished. They stared at each other for a long, tense moment before Takuma began fidgeting, making Kaname smile slightly. That smile was all his friend needed to see to relax slightly.

Kaname nodded. "I am."

"Oh, okay," Takuma muttered, scratching his head and offering the pureblood a sheepish smile, blushing just slightly. Kaname found Takuma endearing sometimes, but perhaps he'd never be able to tell the noble that. "I'll go see what I can do, Kaname." The noble paused for a moment, frowning before fixing his pureblood friend with an intense gaze. "What if it happens again?"

Kaname frowned, biting his lip and showing Takuma his uncertain side. "If it does, I think we can afford to let me deal with it," he said slowly, thoughtfully. And if the noble didn't like it? Well, that was his problem. "After all, I doubt noble blood will keep him sane for long, don't you?" Takuma nodded. "He'll start to fall, or maybe he'll get injured again, and I shall step in. We can't have an unstable ex-human on campus, can we? Even if it's Kiryu."

Takuma understood the way his friend was thinking, and really, pure vampire blood would be the best thing for Kiryu to drink to keep him sane and hopefully stable, if somewhat annoyed with the pureblood in question. The blond noble smiled and shook his head a little, trying to dislodge thoughts and images of the silver-haired hunter-turned-vampire engaged in questionable activities with the dark-haired pureblood standing right in front of him. "I understand, Kaname. I'll go and help him now, if you're still okay with that?"

Again, Kaname nodded. "I am, Takuma," he told the blond. "Really, I am. It's not like I can really do much with the Council hanging over my shoulder, is it?" Takuma sighed and the pureblood squeezed his shoulder, shaking his head. "Now go help him, before he attacks someone."

Takuma inclined his head to Kaname and slipped out from under his hand, swiftly disappearing down the hall at vampire speed, headed for the Dorms. Hopefully, his friend would go and help the perfect before anyone, especially Zero, did something stupid. Meanwhile, though, Kaname had a class to keep under control. Already, he could detect hints of the prefect's blood seeping into his senses, and now he could detect that classroom's unease without him in the room. That was bad. The pureblood quickly entered the room and re-took his seat, silently telling the others to _sit _and _calm the hell down_.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Zero heard Takuma enter <strong>_before the two male cousins even noticed his presence and opened his eyes, focusing on the green-eyed blond. The group were in a small room off the main hall that looked like it was used as a storage room of some sort by the Moon Dorm maids, and although the light was on, someone had dimmed it; Zero hadn't noticed that, at first, but now he did. Aido and Kain had him in a chair with his back to the far wall, the pair standing between him and the door. Unfortunately, there was now window, so Zero knew he was effectively stuck there. Ruka was lingering in the doorway behind the other noble vampires, a concerned look on her face. Concerned for her cousins, not him. And now Takuma was in the room, green gaze focused intently on him.

"Oh, my," Takuma whispered, taking in the scene before him. He took in Zero's state of distress; the still seeping wound, the torn clothes and the glowing red eyes. He sighed. Definitely not good. Kaname was right to have worried; Zero definitely needed help.

Zero narrowed his gaze at the green-eyed noble. He knew that look; Takuma was planning something. And Zero wasn't going to be a part of it, if he could help it. Not that he could actually do anything, even if he wanted to. "No," he rasped, making Takuma's gaze flicker back up to his eyes, which were still bright red. The noble had been eyeing his neck and shoulder. Zero pressed harder. "Whatever it is your planning, don't do it."

Takuma just watched him for a long moment, tension mounting with every second. The other three nobles in the room moved, uncomfortable with the rising tension in the air, and the way their friend was eyeing Kiryu. Kain, at least, was worried about the ex-human, but Hanabusa and Ruka were more worried about what could happen if Zero snapped right there, in that moment while Takuma was too close to him-for their liking, anyway. Takuma's gaze was intense when it met Zero's, and something in the noble's gaze made Zero hesitate. His eyes narrowed a little further as Takuma's face fell into a frown.

Abruptly, Takuma turned on the other three nobles in the room. "Everyone out," he said sternly, gaze narrowed. Ruka, Kain and Hanabusa hesitated, gaze flickering from Zero to Takuma. They'd never seen the green-eyed noble look so serious before. Ruka snorted and turned on her heel, disappearing out the door. She wouldn't go far, but she'd wait for them. She, like her cousins, were still unnerved. Kain gave them both one last look before he took Aido's arm and practically dragged him from the room, closing the door behind them and leaving Takuma alone with Kiryu.

Zero frowned at Takuma, watching as the noble slowed turned back towards him. What was he doing? Didn't the noble know it was better to leave him locked in the room, than to risk... well, anything? He pushed upright with a groan, scowling at the other vampire. "Ichijo," he said warningly, wary of the other vampire as he approached. Zero levered himself out of the chair using on of the arms, pushing away from it and cursing when he stumbled a little. Takuma merely watched him. What was the noble _doing_?

"Sit down, Zero," the noble murmured, gesturing to the chair the ex-human had just vacated. When the ex-human just gave him a slightly blank look, Takuma sighed. "Please." Zero shot the other vampire a suspicious look, but a sharp stab of pain and hunger radiating through his chest made him gasp and double over, falling back into the chair a moment later. "I've had the situation explained to me, Zero. I know what you are. _Kaname _knows what you are." Zero froze at the mention of the pureblood's name. "He...wants to help you, and so do I..." Takuma paused, as if choosing his words carefully before he advanced on the ex-human. Zero sat stiffly in the chair, tense with what he was hearing. Kaname...didn't hate him? He should have known! Takuma came to halt with reach of Zero and gave him a sympathetic look. "I've been told that you've been fighting this for years... Have you?" Zero blinked and looked up, no longer suspicious or wary, or even angry. Just...defeated. He nodded, and Takuma let out a soft exhale. "Ah, I see." He seemed to consider the other vampire for a moment before raising a hand to his neck, trailing his fingers down it, right over the pulse he knew Zero was suddenly fixated by. "I take it you'll be needing this then, right?" he asked softly, watching how Zero reacted. The ex-human swallowed, gaze trained on Takuma's neck. The noble tilted his head a little. "Go on then," he said, keeping his voice low and soft, enticing.

"Don't,' Zero croaked, tearing his gaze off the noble's neck. Takuma smiled slightly, sadly. And there he went, fighting again. Somehow, Takuma had known the ex-human would do that. "Please, Takuma..." He swallowed again before taking a deep breath and meeting the noble's green gaze. "You don't know what you're asking me to do-" He trailed off abruptly, hoping like hell the noble didn't think it was odd.

"Don't worry," Takuma replied, cutting his neck lightly with his now-elongated fingernail. "Just remember, Zero-I offered." He fixed Zero with an unreadable look, making Zero frown, but when the scent of blood hit him, Zero's eyes bottomed out into a hungry, glowing red gaze. He was still there, holding onto his control by a thread. Takuma almost hesitated, but then he remember the look that had been on Kaname's face earlier, and he swallowed any uncertainty he currently had. He would do this-for Kaname.

Zero seem to hover between trying to suppress his bloodlust, to fight it like he normally did and deciding to just give in, to let himself fall into bloodlust. _And Takuma is offering so nicely_, he thought sarcastically, gaze drifting back to the noble's now-pounding pulse. He resisted for a moment, just long enough to meet the noble's gaze again and give him a dark, self-loathing smirk. "Just remember," Zero said warningly, echoing Takuma's earlier words. "I did warn you."

He reached out and grabbed the noble by his wrist, the one that had been hanging almost limply by his waist, and tugged him closer. Takuma only just managed to suppress a yelp, having been startled by the sudden movement. He didn't know ex-humans could move that fast. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he was facing down a pureblood-but that was impossible, wasn't it? Everyone knew the Kiryus were vampire hunters, and _human_. Zero wasn't a pureblood-you couldn't _make _a pureblood. Purebloods were _born_. His thoughts skittered to a halt when he felt Zero's breath on his neck, right over his pounding pulse. But Zero didn't bit down right away, and the suspense was killing him. Takuma found it strange that he was _wanting _Zero's bite...and he wasn't quite sure why yet.

Zero, meanwhile, was hesitating-for just a moment. What would happen if he did this? He wasn't his true self right now, was he? He was technically an ex-human, right? So, it shouldn't matter if he bit the noble? Nothing would come out of since an ex-human was previously human, and, by default, most vampire physiology hopefully wouldn't affect him? But what about Takuma? Zero closed his eyes, fighting the instinct to _just bite down already_. He had been human, and he had been bitten and turned into an ex-human. Hopefully there wouldn't be any lingering repercussions if he bit another vampire. Zero pressed his lips against the noble's throat in a light, butterfly kiss.

"I'm sorry,," he whispered and bit down. Takuma's breath caught as he felt Zero's teeth slide swiftly and painlessly into his flesh, eyes falling closed as he slid a hand into the other vampire's hair. Zero's whispered apology almost went unheeded, but he heard it. Before he could wonder why the other vampire had said that, though, he was distracted by the intense sensation of having another vampire drinking from him. He'd shared blood before-with Senri-so he was no stranger to it, but with Zero... With Zero it was different. As far as he knew, the ex-human had never bitten anyone, so why was he so skilled at this? It made Takuma frown slightly in confusion-he didn't know how to explain that, though. He'd think about that later. Right now, Zero was working his neck, drawing swiftly but not too fast. He was still in control-but only just. Takuma exhaled softly, tilting his head a little more to give the ex-human better access. And Zero took advantage of it, pulling Takuma even closer and releasing the other vampire's wrist so he could wind his right hand in the blond hair and hold the noble's head still.

Takuma's grip on Zero's hair tightened as the dizziness began to set in, making the other vampire growl. They pair stiffened, Zero suddenly realises that he may have taken a little too much. Slowly but swiftly, he disengaged and wiped a hand over his mouth, pulling back from Takuma and exhaling loudly. He nudged the noble back a little and pushed out of his seat, avoiding the other vampire's gaze.

"Uh, sorry," he muttered, shifting away a few steps and shoving his hands into his pants. There was a brief moment of awkward silence while Takuma righted himself, wiped blood off his neck as it healed and fixed his clothing, as Zero had tugged his collar out of the way at some stage. He cleared his throat a little and glance sideways at the other vampire. "Uh, thanks, by the way...for, you know." Zero dragged a hand out of his pocket and rubbed his neck, shrugging. "Sorry...for any inconvenience." Then he shot the vampire a dark look and stormed out the door, making the three nobles lurking outside jump and quickly move out of the way.

Ruka, Kain and Hanabusa gave Zero a startled look as he stalked past, expression dark and ominous. The ex-human vanished out the front doors and the trio of nobles peeked into the room in time to see Takuma smile slightly, his cheeks a little flushed. Kain raised an eyebrow while Ruka scowled and Aido's expression went dark. They'd smelt the blood earlier, Takuma's blood, and the pair had been in the room alone for a while. "Uh, Takuma?" Hanabusa asked, a frown now marring his features when he saw Takuma perfectly unharmed and looking not at all broken.

Takuma blinked and looked up, smiled a little wider and gave them a sheepish look before clearing his throat. "Ah, I'm just going to go find Senri now," he said and stiffly walked out of the room, brushing past the other three nobles. He also disappeared out the front doors of the Moon Dormitory. Aido eyed the doors thoughtfully, while Ruka gave her cousins a mock-disgusted look. Kain just burst out laughing.

"Think he bit off more than he could chew?" Aido commented thoughtfully, not exactly thinking about what he was saying, or how he had worded the comment. He spared his cousins a look and froze. Ruka and Kain were staring at him. Ruka's expression was slightly shocked, and more than a little amused. Kain was simply smothering his laughter. Abruptly, the three of them broke out in laughter. It was good to laugh sometimes, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **Hello! Yes, this is chapter 3. I hope you like it. I'm really, really sorry it took so long. Gods, that's terrible. But it's up now, and right below. Feel free to yell at me if I take too long to get the next chapter up. Hopefully, you don't hate it..._

_Also, I apologise profoundly if the Japanese honorifics are completely wrong, but it could maybe possible work into the plot later on? Do feel free to let me know if they're wrong or something! Enjoy!_

_As usual, I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Secrets, Secrets.<strong>

_**Takuma lay propped on his elbow, **_watching the red-haired noble beside him sleep. It had been a few days since the little incident with Zero and the ex-human was looking okay, but something was making Takuma worry. Since he'd been bitten by Zero, he'd felt a little pinch in his neck every time the other vampire was nearby. It had been bad at first, aching and throbbing with every beat of his heart, but now it was faint, almost gone. Absently, Takuma slid a hand against his neck, touching the place who Zero had bitten him. Senri had bitten him earlier, too, so his bite area still felt a little tender, but now Senri's bite was over-shadowing Zero's. That felt better too. Having the ex-human's presence throbbing in his senses a little stronger than it had ever been was unnerving. And Takuma didn't know why.

The blonde sighed, laying his head down on the pillow and closes his eyes; he had a problem, but he couldn't be bothered getting up to fix it just yet. That was probably why he'd woken up, too-not because the ex-human had walked past the Moon dorm (though why he'd do that, Takuma didn't know). At least, he hoped so. Besides, it was still very early by vampire standards-mid-afternoon, if he was correct- and they had classes at dusk; he needed to sleep, and he needed to fix that problem before he slept, not that it'd help much. When Shiki stirred, he somehow knew it wouldn't be happening. "Takuma?" the other vampire murmured sleepily, rolling onto his side and facing his friend and lover.

"Ah, Shiki," Takuma said nervously before swiftly rolling away and making to leave the bed. A hand shot out and caught Takuma by the thigh. He froze, letting out a gasp. Shiki's husky chuckle made him scowl.

"Where do you think you're going?" the redhead asked, gently urging the blonde to lay back down. Takuma complied half-heatedly. It wasn't like he didn't want Senri-it was just that he knew they'd be late if Senri started anything right now.

"Bathroom," he muttered, making the other vampire laugh more. It sent a delicious little chill down Takuma's spine, making him shudder. In delight, of course. Senri couldn't scare him if the other vampire even bothered to try. Which he didn't, Takuma knew.

Senri's gaze drifted towards Takuma's stomach, and then lower still. He smirked and raised his gaze to the blonde's. "Oh, really?" he asked, sliding a hand towards Takuma's little problem. The blonde inhaled swiftly, grabbing for that hand's wrist. "I don't think so..."

"Senri-" Takuma's protest was cut off by the other vampire's lips claiming his own. _Oh, to hell with it, _he thought and kissed the redhead back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kaname sighed, laying back <strong>_on his chaise lounge. It had been a few days since the incident with Kiryu, but something was bugging him. And it wasn't just Yuki, and not to forget mentioning the entire goddamned situation. It was something far, far older; his still half-forgotten past. He was still remembering bits and pieces, but he had most of his memories back now. Just a little longer, and he would know how to get rid of Rido for good.

"Kaname-sama?"

He sighed. Seiren. "Yes, Seiren?" he asked absently, flinging an arm over his eyes and letting them fall closed. She knew he was having a bit of trouble focusing on the now-his past, his memories were flooding back and taking over everything. Occasionally, it was fine, but sometimes it got frustrating and annoying when he couldn't remember something.

"There is a letter from the Council addressed to you here. What should I do with it?" she asked. Kaname pulled his mind away from the memories long enough to opens his eyes, remove his arm and give her a dark look. She hesitated, which was very unlike her normal behaviour, but approached him. She held out the letter as he sat up.

"What do they want now?" he mused, taking the letter and almost ripping it open. He started reading it, and a moment later he was glaring, his furious aura roaring around the room. "I should have known!" he snarled, flinging it at the nearby coffee table. "Bloody typical of them," he hissed and flung himself back onto his chaise lounge again. "Tell them I won't be attending."

Seiren didn't even jump as she watched the letter miss the coffee table and drift to the floor. She was silent for several long minutes before she spoke. "Very well, Kaname-sama," she murmured, bending to retrieve the letter and placing it on the table between them. "I shall inform them of your decision." She hesitated, watching as Kaname covered his face with his arm again. "Is there anything else you would like me to tell them?"

"A very blunt 'Fuck off' would be too offensive, wouldn't it?" Kaname replied, his voice muffled by his arm. Seiren didn't even blink at the vulgar language the older vampire had uttered. In fact, she merely laughed. "I don't know it would make a difference, though." Kaname sighed and Seiren swore she heard him mutter something about never getting any peace with the Council around.

"I do believe your telling the Council to 'Fuck off', as you put it, would not be taken very well," Seiren replied, choosing to ignore the muttered comment-which probably wasn't meant for her ears anyway. This time, Kaname was the one to laugh, even if it was slightly choked, self-depreciating and seemingly a little despairing. Seiren chose not to comment on that, either. "And I do believe Ichio might take that a little too literally."

Kaname's self-depreciating laughter abruptly cut off. He removed his arm and sat up, meeting Seiren's gaze. "Indeed he would. Best to just tell them that I'm unavailable on that day, don't you think?" He sighed and shifted his gaze, moving it to glare at the floor. "I'm sure they'll excuse me this one time, at least. It's not like they have anything _important _to discuss."

"Very well, Kaname-sama," Seiren said and bowed. "I shall inform them of your inability to attend to them-this time, at least." She rose out of her bow and inclined her head to the pureblood-a sign of respect. Especially when it came from her. "Hopefully, they will not question it, and if they do, I shall inform them of your...quest to tame an unruly level 'D?" Kaname nodded, and Seiren retreated from the room. Despite all appearances, the two were rather close-closer than even Kaname's friends though. Seiren was more than just another bodyguard, she was friend-someone the pureblood could truly trust-and his eyes and ears out in the world, for he couldn't exactly do any spying himself, could he? Then again, appearances can be deceiving.

For several long minutes after she left, Kaname sat staring at the floor. His eyes were blank and slightly glazed and he dove into his memories again. It's wasn't like this was the first time, let alone that would be the last. It was just something he did, especially if he was trying to remember something very, very important. Like how to get rid of his so-called uncle for good, if he could. What he brought up this time in his memories was not what he expected it to be. In fact, it was almost a shock.

_Hair and skin, and a large array of colour shone brightly in the sunlight as Kaname gazed out over the clearing. He smiled as he watched the small group of vampires and hunters interacting with each other. There was some snarling from both sides, both animalistic and hunter-esque, but that wasn't what most humans did. Vampires preyed on humans, humans fought back. It was rare for humans to get along, but they were here. Admittedly, they were hunters, but they were still mostly human. And even hunters rarely got on with the vampires. It was something of a miracle to see the two getting along here._

_"Kaname!" The voice was male and vaguely familiar, but even now Kaname couldn't place it. Instead, he felt arms wrap around him, and clearly they were not unwelcome. In fact, Kaname would have said they were familiar, and that the person those arms belonged to was also familiar-if it weren't for the fact that he hadn't seen the face yet. "Isn't it wonderful?" The tone was low, seductive. It sent a lovely little shiver down his spine. _Delightful_, he thought and then froze when warms lips and hot breath brushed past his ear._

_He suddenly remembered the scene before him-of the hunters and vampires, merely a small group compared to the whole, working together. Although he had never gotten past the scene before him._

_Until now._

_"Ah," he exclaimed, just a breath. A little, delighted exhale that clearly told the man behind him that Kaname had liked that little move. The arms pulled him closer, flush against against a warm body, and- Kaname abruptly exhaled again. "You shouldn't tempt me so, Hidenka." Kaname sighed when they arms relaxed slightly, letting him put so space between himself and the man behind him-no. Pureblood vampire. "At least, not in front of the others."_

_"I apologise, Heika," the other pureblood whispered, lips by Kaname's ears again. "I'll try not to cause you distress or make a scene in future...Kaname-sama." The man released him and moved to stand beside Kaname. A glint of silver-grey had Kaname turning towards him. And then their eyes met-dark garnet and dark amethyst-fuchsia. Kaname froze. That was... No. That was impossible, and yet...here it was. The impossible, staring him right in the face. But..._

Masaru_. Kaname felt his lips shape the word, but the sound never left his lips. The silver-haired, dark eyed pureblood before him merely smiled._

And Kaname was jerked out of his memories abruptly, blinking and looking around the room in complete shock. "_What the hell was that?_" he muttered, rubbing at his now-throbbing temples and sore eyes. He had not expected _that_. That..._that _had been strange. He _remembered _a scene like that, but it had...been...with _someone else_. Not that man-a _pureblooded vampire _who looked so much like Zero that Kaname worried something had driven him insane. That couldn't be possible, could it? But still, there it was, and in one of his memories, too. Kaname swore, loudly, and stood. He didn't know what to make of this new development. Perhaps some of the hunter families were, indeed, descended from vampires-pureblooded or not. Kaname would have to think on that, and probably check on some historical records, family trees-things like that. Not that they would even help, of course.

And so, with those thoughts in mind, Kaname began to pace.

* * *

><p><em><strong>"Yuki, are you sure<strong>_ you need this one, too?" Zero asked, smothering a groan as the young, brown-haired girl piled yet another piece of clothing into his already over-loaded armful. Yuki just flashed him a smile and darted back to the rack, flicking through the clothes on it. Zero groaned. She did not just brush him off, did she? He eyed the girl as she pulled yet another dress off that rack and moved onto the next. He sighed. Yes, yes she had. Zero shook his head and slowly followed the little..._monster _around the clothing store. Honestly, the chairman told them to go shopping. _Them_, not Yuki. He really wanted to get _something _for himself, you know? Why did she just have to take over and-oh, right. Pureblood traits showing through. He could literally slap himself. _Duh, Zero. She's a pureblood-sealed-as-a-human!_

"Hey Zero," she broke into his thoughts, dragging his attention to her. She held a pale, lilac-coloured dress for his inspection; it was made of flimsy material with lacey material beneath the flimsy saffron-like cloth. And it had a bodice, Zero noticed. That did, indeed, lace up the back with thin straps to go over her shoulders. "What do you think?" Zero, well, he liked it, and so he nodded in approval before having it shoved in on top of everything else. And Yuki went to skip off to another clothing rack before pausing and turning back to him. "Um, aren't we meant to go shopping for you, too?"

"And the chairman," Zero reminded gently, turning towards the counter. "We're done here."

Yuki followed him as he crossed the shop and dumped all her clothes on the wooden countertop. "Yup," she chirped, skipping to a halt beside the irate hunter, who didn't even bother to train his glare on his companion. She sighed and paid for the clothes, fidgeting the entire time as Zero glared at the attendant behind the counter-who happened to be a vampire and probably at least a 'B. Though, who knew why he was working in such a tiny clothing store. "Where to next?" Yuki asked, trying to distract Zero as the vampire attendant packed Yuki's clothing into bags.

Zero grunted at her and pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. He read it before answering her. "Uh," Zero said without looking up, his eyes glued to the paper. "Supermarket." He scowled at the paper before shoving it back into his pocket. _God, what does he want that for? It's not like he'll use it-okay, maybe he will. _Zero grimaced and snatched the bags off the attendant while said vampire gave Yuki her change. Something about the way the other vampire watched him made Zero want to draw_ Bloody Rose _and point it at his head-something about his eyes. If he didn't know any better, he'd have said they were _knowing _of all things.

"Alright!"Yuki was entirely too cheerful as they left the store and turned right, heading back towards the outskirts of the town. He listened as she absent-mindedly chattered on about this or that-mostly, it was Kaname and what he'd done or said near her lately. Frankly, Zero didn't really care. But then he did, because honestly? He hated not being able to show everyone that he wasn't as angsty and abrupt as he appeared. Rude and arrogant definitely did not suit him. Not at all. He really would prefer to show the others how kind he was. And he had let slip there for a moment, when he'd thanks Takuma for the blood-exchange.

They were almost to the supermarket on the edge of town when the 'E crashed into Zero, sending Yuki's bags to the ground and both Zero and the 'E into the nearest wall. He didn't even have time to draw his gun before the 'E was going for his neck. It all happened so fast-one moment, he was just in front of Yuki and the next, pinned to a wall by a crazed level E. This one was a male, and for some reason, Zero _couldn't feel it_. Oh, sure. He could see it and everything, but searching for it with his hunter and vampire senses? Complete. Blank.

"Zero!" Yuki's cry attracted the level E's attention, and as the 'E turned his head towards her, Zero began to panic. That was a _very bad idea_. He couldn't let the 'E get a hold of her. Who knew who it might to do, what with Yuki being a sealed Pureblood and all. So he grabbed for it, attracting the insane vampire's attention now. It fought back, _viciously_, hitting him hard in the face and shoving his head back into the wall. Zero yelped, and stifled a curse, glancing towards Yuki. The girl looked terrified, and she wasn't even considering Artemis, strapped to her leg. He knew he was bleeding now, and that the 'E had caught a whiff of it. _Oh, shit, _he thought, as he felt the other vampire's breath closing in on his neck and a brush of fangs. Just before it would have bitten done, Zero heard footsteps approaching-three different sets, in fact.

"Hey, vampire!"

Both Zero and the level E's heads swung towards the intruders, and the 'E pulled back a little. Zero's gaze, though, widened at the sight of three of the Night Class students. Takuma, Shiki and Aido. The blonde noble held a sword-a katana, if Zero was correct. The 'E growled and shoved himself away from the wall, slashing Zero's torso as he did so. Zero stared at the three nobles, momentarily forgetting all about the pain of his words as the 'E advanced on the other vampires. Belatedly, he realised that Shiki was bleeding. Noble blood did smell better than his-if you didn't try to analyze it too closely, that is. Zero watched the 'E as it hesitated, swinging his head from Shiki to Zero and back. And then he went for Zero again.

And Takuma's katana sliced the 'E's head off.

There was complete silence for a moment as Zero leaned against the wall, blood smearing his face, cheek and neck from the three claws marks on his face-all three ran down the right side of his face, from temple to jaw. The pain hit him just as the level E's body disintegrated into dust, making him double over and clutch his torso. He was pretty sure he had several sets of claw-turned-slash marks marring his body now. _Why do they keep attacking me? _he thought, half-numb with pain, but he already knew the answer. Somewhere off to his right, he heard Yuki calling his name and someone telling her not to go near him.

"Uh, Kiryu?" That was Takuma. Slowly, Zero raised his head. The green-eyed noble stood before him, head tilted to one side and a frown marring his features. "You've got blood all over you, but I don't see any wounds other than the ones on your face..." Zero suddenly realised that the pain was gone and abruptly went pale. _What the hell? _"Kiryu?"

"I'm fine," Zero said and straightened up, shifting his gaze past the noble to see that Aido was speaking to Yuki. "Can...you do something for me?" he asked, dragging his gaze back to Takuma, who was looking at the ex-human's chest and sides in confusion-and suspicion. Somehow, Zero had a feeling that Takuma would be pestering him in the near future. The noble nodded, but the suspicious look still lingered in his gaze as it swept over his no-longer-scarred body-which _should not _have healed so fuckng fast! "Alter her memory?" He kept his voice low, so that only the vampires would hear. And he hated to ask that, but if he healing was randomly kicking in, it was probably better not to let Yuki see it. He'd healed too fast for even an ex-human just now, and that was _bad_. What the hell was up with him lately?

Takuma blinked at him. "Why?" he said, almost mouthing the word at the ex-human, his voice was that low. Zero gave him a pointed look and Takuma mouthed 'Oh' at him. Then the noble took a step forward and sniffed him. Zero froze, giving Takuma a wary look, but the noble only shook his head and backed up again. "Okay," he said, almost a little too cheerily, "I think we should go back now."

"Uh, Takuma?" Shiki sounded worried, and when the pair turned towards the others, they found an unconscious Yuki in Shiki's arms and all her bags in Aido's. "Can we...?"

"We're going," Takuma said and moved away from Zero, who stayed still and leaning against the wall for a moment longer. The trio of vampires all looked towards Zero, who swallowed and pushed away from the wall. No one even batted an eye as Zero crossed to the bags, swiftly removed his damaged shirt and jacket, and exchange it for a top he'd brought while in the shop with Yuki-not that she'd noticed it, of course. "Alright now?"

Zero nodded and tucked the shirt into one of the bags with a grimace. "Yeah," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. Aido, ever the curious one (and the one who didn't know when to shut his mouth and keep it shut), opened his mouth-probably to ask questions about whatever the hell had just happened-but swiftly shut it again when Zero sent an icy glare his way. One icy enough to even rival _Aido's_ice-wielding powers. "I'm burning that as soon as we get back to the Academy," he muttered and started walking, leaving the the three nobles exchanging confused glances and an unconscious Yuki in Shiki's arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kaname felt it the moment<strong>_ they got back, all of them. The three nobles, Yuki _and _Zero. And for some reason he couldn't fathom, Zero's aura was all over the place. He didn't know why, but he was sure as hell was going to find out. He'd been pacing his room, lost in the memory from before again-the one with the pureblood who looked like Zero, but who _couldn't _be Zero. Though he'd known the moment the group had gotten back-he'd actually interrupted Takuma and Shiki to send them into town, spouting some bullshit lie about feeling a large number of level E presences in the town. Of course, he had felt the 'Es, but it had only been a handful, not a large number. And definitely not the kind of numbers he'd implied. But he'd asked, and the nobles had obeyed. It was how their world worked.

With a sigh, he dragged himself over to the window and watched the group as Zero took Yuki off Shiki and carried her towards the Chairman's house, Aido trailing after them. He watched until the pair, with Aido right behind them, disappeared into the house before switching his gaze back to Takuma and Shiki. The pair were discussing something together in low voices and Kaname was pretty sure it had to have something to do with Zero-despite no wounds other than the ones on the ex-human's face, Kaname could still smell a large amount of blood-_Kiryu's blood_. And he wasn't sure why.

"What are you hiding, Zero Kiryu?" he muttered, placing a hand on the window. Perhaps he would be questioning Takuma later? Either way, he was going to have to get some digging done, and soon. "Seiren."

"Yes, my lord?" The answer was immediate.

"I want you to find everything there is to be found on the Kiryus. I don't care if it's hospital records, Hunter records or old school records." He stepped away from the window, half-turning towards the vampire kneeling behind him. "I want it all. I want to know what secrets Kiryu is hiding."

"Yes, Kaname-sama."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**Alright, here's chapter 4. Enjoy! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed for doing just that! I love reviews and feedback. Don't be afraid to suggest things!_

_First, a few of you have questions and stuff I thought I might answer._

**LuanRina:**_I love seeing your huge reviews! And, ah, Kaname and his vulgar words. *chuckles* I was channeling Ancestor!Kaname there. I figure he'd be a little less...stoic than the Kaname we normally see. I'm glad you liked it; you'll definitely be seeing more of that in future chapters! Oh, and the memories. Heh, it's all part of the plan. Which you will see, eventually. As for Yuki; I'm not a fan of her, either. And I have plans for her, too. Which I'm sure you might like._

**Jem'appelle Croissant:**_ Thanks for the huge reviews! And I shall definitely be taking responsiblity, since this chapter cuts off in the middle of a scene (I bet you'll hate me when you find out _which _scene), but don't worry! I'll be posting the next chapter by Monday, if I remember. If not, feel free to scold me for it! You're also right about one thing; Zero is a pureblood, but everything that surrounds this status... Well, let's just say it'll be explained eventually._

**irmina:**Aaaah, yes. You are quite right with both your questions.

**rosaikibu, ChineseRoom 23, Atheist1****:**It will all be explained in time. And I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

_Also, I am very_, very _sorry that this is starting to confuse some of you guys, but don't worry. It will become clear in time, hopefully... On another note, I'd like to let you guys know that I speak very little of any language that is not English, so I'd appreciate it if you can try to use English in your reviews. I keep having to use Google Translate (which may or may not be unreliable) just so I know what you're trying to tell me._

_Oh, and please thank my friend _**Celtica **_for proof reading this for me! She's far too precious! ^^_

_And now, without further ado; here you go. Enjoy!_

_As usual, I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Of Slip-ups and Blood.<strong>

_**Kaname sat in his office,**_ fingering the papers on his desk. It had been two weeks since Kiryu and Yuki had returned from town smelling of blood and level Es, and in those two weeks, Seiren had found as much information on Zero and his family as she possibly could. It all sat before him. Everything-hospital records, old school records, odd papers from here or there; receipts for this or that. Everything except the Hunter records, which Seiren had told him were taking a little longer to get ahold of. Kaname didn't protest that; these were all he needed so far. And he had yet to look at them, preoccupied with how Zero had been acting over the last two weeks or so. The boy was getting closer and closer to completely losing it every night. Kaname could tell.

And so could those who knew the prefect was a vampire.

Yes, Kaname knew that his inner circle had their suspicions of the silver-haired boy. He wasn't surprised at all-they had every right to be suspicious of Kiryu. The boy really was acting rather strange-especially of late. Right now, though, the sun was rising, and stray rays of sunlight had slipped in past the thick, heavy curtains covering his window, irritating the pureblood sitting behind his desk. Around him, Kaname could sense the other Night Class students. They were settling in for the day, returning to their rooms and becoming a dull thrum in the pureblood's sense. All except the trio downstairs in the lounge off the main hall. Takuma, Shiki and Aido.

Kaname frowned. What were they doing? They should have been going to bed for the day, not talking downstairs! The pureblood abruptly stood up, feeling as though someone had called his name, and slipped out into the hall, curiosity burning in his blood. As his door clicked shut behind him, voices drifted up from the lounge. They had not closed the door yet.

"...what about the prefect?" That was Shiki, with Aido's snort of irritation or amusement closely following it. Kaname moved towards the stairs.

"Yes," Aido sneered, "what about _him_?"

There was a long moment of silence, as if Takuma was considering his words very, _very _carefully. Kaname held in his snort of amusement, too aware of that fact that he was eavesdropping on his friends. They would find nothing wrong with it; he was their pureblood, after all. He came to a halt on the stairs when Takuma spoke.

"He's a vampire," the blonde noble said, "we know that. But there's... something off about him. I don't know what it is, but it's making me uneasy." Clothes rustling, a small noise of protest-Takuma had shifted slightly, probably disturbing Shiki in the process. "It's like he's keeping a secret, and a big one, too."

Aido snorted again, this time in derision. "As if that '_D_has any secrets!" the ice-wielding noble exclaimed. Kaname heard him rise and cross the room-probably going for the liquor cabinet. Sure enough, there was a clink of glass and then the sound of liquid being poured.

"_Aido!_" Takuma snapped, his voice sterner than Kaname had ever heard it before. "Don't say that. Ze-_Kiryu_ may be a level D vampire, but he is still a prefect here at the Academy. You should at least show _some _respect."

Kaname blinked, leaning against the stairway railing. Takuma respected Kiryu? The pureblood shook his head, suddenly amused. He should have known; Takuma was loyal to him, yes, but he respected people easily. Yet something about the way Takuma spoke of him, the tone of the younger vampire's voice was making Kaname uneasy. That kind devotion was often reserved for purebloods, so why was Takuma speaking of Kiryu that way? It was strange, but Kaname felt no offense at it. This was Takuma's choice, strange as it may be. He'd let it be, for now.

"Respect?" Aido replied, his tone growing angry. "Pah! Not for the 'D, Takuma."

The atmosphere in the room was turning intense-Kaname could tell from the stairs. Takuma was getting angry and Aido was more insulted and irritated than anything, and Senri? He was just kind of...sitting there, seeming to take it all in. The pureblood tilted his head to one side, still listening. Were they going to say anything else? Abruptly, the door clicked shut, muffling their words beyond his hearing. Kaname shook his head and turned around, starting back up the stairs.

He returned to his room, subdued. So Takuma felt something was wrong with the prefect? That was a feeling Kaname had himself. Kiryu was definitely keeping something from him, and Kaname really wanted to know what it was. Well, he had a plan now, and he had paperwork to do. All he had to do now, was wait for Kiryu to fall into bloodlust and make sure that _he _was the closest one to the prefect. No vampire could resist the lure of pure vampire blood.

Kaname returned to his desk and sat down, contemplating the paperwork before him for a moment and then sighed. He should sleep, too. He hadn't slept at all the night before, and was starting to feel worn out. Perhaps it was time to sleep. He considered calling for Seiren to tell her to keep an eye on the prefect, but he knew she was probably busy getting the Hunter records for him, so he stood again and went to the bed. The sun was getting higher in the sky, and Kaname judged it to be close to seven now-time for the Day Class students to be getting up and readying themselves for school.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Academy, <strong>_Zero was struggling to stay awake, having stayed in his room in the headmaster's house. For the last few weeks, he'd been sleeping poorly at night, feeling the urge to sleep during the daylight hours. He resisted, though, for Yuki's sake. He didn't need her to worry—especially about him. He wasn't quite sure what was happening yet, though he knew he was falling—as a level D vampire and an ex-human, of course, and not what he truly was. His so-called level of vampire fell hard and fast. He knew it was happening to him, but not yet. He was close—very close—but he still had a little bit of time; a few months, perhaps.

Sunlight was slipping in through the window and across the floor, making his eyes hurt even though they were closed. He could hear the headmaster, his adoptive father, moving about in the kitchen, obviously getting breakfast ready, but Zero felt no desire to get up and go help him. Kaien Cross was notorious for his disastrous cooking experiments, and constantly taste-tested them on Yuki and Zero. The prefect snorted, rolling over to put his back to the sun. He hadn't slept more than an hour or two that night, and had no doubt at all that he would fall asleep in class later on. He didn't need the added stress of another failed cooking attempt of the headmaster's.

"Zero," the man called from the kitchen in a sing-song voice, abruptly jerking Zero out of his drowsy state. The prefect sat up, scowling. Cross knew Zero could hear him, and the prefect was sure he'd done that on purpose, to make sure Zero didn't go to sleep. He was still a Day Class student, after all. "Breakfast's ready!"

The prefect groaned, rubbing at his temple as he swung his legs off the bed. Kaien was nothing if not persistent, so it was better for him to get up now than for him to lay there and listen to the headmaster's annoying voice for any longer. Zero got up slowly, grabbing for the nearest object—which happened to be a chair-as his vision went dark momentarily and his head spun. He needed to eat more, despite not actually being hungry—for human food, that is. He was hungry, yes, but for blood. Not whatever the headmaster had managed to make. And that was bad, his vision and the dizziness-definitely bad.

"Zero!" the headmaster called again, sounding a little worried. Zero's scowl deepened but he set about getting ready none-the-less, listening to the headmaster downstairs. He could smell the food, too. And surprisingly, it actually didn't smell that bad. That had to be a good thing, right? Zero paused, considering that. _With Cross's cooking?_ he thought with a snort. _No, probably not._

"Be down in a minute!" he called back before Kaien could call out again. He checked himself in the mirror; the tie wasn't done up, let alone straight, but he found he didn't care. His uniform was creased, but that didn't matter and he didn't care about that either. The vest was done up and his holster was on. Moving slowly, he pulled his jacket on and picked up the _Bloody Rose_, tucking it into the holster before fiddling with his jacket to get it to lie down smoothly over the gun.

Once that was done, he moved for the door to head downstairs. Hopefully, he could slip past the headmaster without the older man noticing. He had no such luck when he approached the kitchen—Kaien rushed away from the counter, arms stretched out wide. "My dearest son!" he exclaimed, trying to hug the boy. Zero swiftly ducked out of the way and slipped into place at the kitchen table, wincing at the headmaster's loudness.

"I'm not your son," he said flatly, eyeing the bowl of what looked like porridge. Kaien, unseen behind him, pouted and followed him back over to the table at a more subdued pace. The food actually smelled good, but would it taste good, too? Zero doubted it, hence his wary inspection of the porridge. "What is this?"

"Breakfast!" Kaien said, smiling at the boy. He watched as Zero picked up a spoon, dipped it into the sludge and proceeded to taste it. "Is it good?" he asked, watching as Zero flinched but otherwise didn't react.

It was truly awful, but the prefect couldn't tell him that. Instead, he gently put the spoon down and swallowed, forcing himself to eat the spoonful of foul-tasting 'porridge'. He coughed and looked up. "It's...okay," he hedged and watched as Cross spun across the kitchen, his eyes all teary. "Uh, really, Cross. I have to go now." He threw the sludge a dark look and stood, slipping past the ecstatic man and towards the door. He'd find something to eat later, most likely during lunch.

Cross didn't appear to hear him as Zero slipped out of the house—the man was too busy spinning round and round, mumbling about his 'beautiful son' and how much he adored the boy. Zero made a face as he stalked away from the house and towards the school buildings. Cross was just far too much sometimes and he was surprised he could still put up with the man. With that thought in mind, Zero wiped his face of emotion and shifted into a purposeful stride. No one would bother him if he looked annoyed enough, and sure enough, no one spoke to him until he entered his first class. And he was about fifteen minutes late, which only annoyed him further—he'd stopped to consider taking those stupid blood tablets before deciding against it.

"Kiryu," the teacher snapped, "you are late." Zero merely looked at the older man and moved to take a seat without a word. The teacher hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and continuing the lesson. Within minutes, Zero was fast asleep in his seat behind Yuki, unknowingly attracting her worried glances.

* * *

><p><em><strong>That evening, Zero skipped out <strong>_on prefect duty, seeking out the solitude of his room in the Sun Dorms. He sat on his bed in contemplative silence, one hand absently clutching at his chest. Again, he was toying with the idea of taking those blasted tablets, staring at the innocent-looking, engraved pill box in his hand. He turned it over, studying the rose on the side. His chest was aching, a dull burn that was getting hotter and hotter, the same with his throat and his stomach was cramping again. When the shaking set in, he knew his eyes would be burning red.

Zero tapped the box, watching as two of the little white tablets fell out. It couldn't hurt to take one or two, could it? He knew they made him sick, but maybe, just maybe, this time, it would work. Zero set the pill box down, gaze focused on the two tablets in his left hand. He made a face and abruptly swallowed them whole, without water. And then he waited, falling back onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling.

He tried to sleep, but not even half an hour later, he was up off the bed and in his ensuite, throwing up in the sink. He leaned over the sink, fingernails digging into the porcelain bowl, coughing and hacking until the two partially-dissolved white pills fell into the sink. He stared down on them, still half-choking on food and thin, red-brown liquid for a long moment, before what he saw registered.

_Shit._He'd thrown up blood again after taking the blood tablets. That wasn't good—that meant he probably had internal bleeding now and he wouldn't know how bad it was until he got Cross to check on him, if he even did that. "Shit, that's bad," he muttered, pushing away from the sink and falling to his knees. He ran a hand through his hair, curling in on himself. Now the cramps were worse, and his blood lust. He dragged himself up only so he could go and lock his door before retreating to the bed and curling up on there, back to the window.

It was after sunset; he could feel the vampires approaching the school and hear the other Day Class students approaching the Sun Dorms. With a start, he realised he probably shouldn't stay where he was, that he was a danger to the others, but he just couldn't find the will to move just yet. The sounds of students—mostly male—flooding the door made him groan. They didn't know what they lived with, did they?

Zero abruptly made up his mind; he had to leave the Sun Dorms, least he hurt someone or did something far worse—and unforgivable, too. At least, it was in his mind. He uncurled slowly, wincing in pain and groaning as he slipped off the bed, one arm curled around his stomach, the other clutching his chest. He barely made it to the window, but he frowned when he found it already open. The scent of vampire stung his nose, and he soon recognized it as Kaname's. The scent of pureblood made his head spin and his body ache; he needed blood. That was when the shaking began.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kaname lingered below the open <strong>_window for a moment, staring up towards the prefect's confused face. The boy hadn't seen him yet, so he moved backwards, away from the building. Kiryu stayed put, a strange, painful look on his face. He also appeared to be shaking, if Kaname's eyes weren't deceiving him. The pureblood tilted his head to one side, watching as Kiryu's eyes bled towards bright, burning red. Kaname knew what that meant; the boy was going into bloodlust.

The pureblood waited a moment longer before using his vampiric speed to suddenly be in the room with Kiryu, knocking the boy backwards. Kiryu landed heavily on his back, breath rushing out of him. "That is not a wise decision," Kaname told him, casually sitting on the windowsill, legs crossed in front of him. The boy recovered quickly, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Kuran!" he growled, glaring at the other vampire. Kaname merely fixed him with a steady look that clearly told the boy not to move. "What the hell do you want?" Kiryu demanded, struggling upright and moving away from the pureblood.

Kaname considered his question for a moment before sighing. "I don't want much, Kiryu," he told the boy. "I just want you not to endanger the others." The boy blinked, sitting down heavily on the bed. "And I believe you owe me a few explanations, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" The boy was defensive now, wary. Kaname silently approved. He smiled slightly and studied the boy closely. Kiryu was clutching his chest again. Kaname watched him closely as he stood and went for the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kaname murmured, studying his fingernails absently. Kiryu turned towards him, a furious look on his face. The pureblood almost smiled again but restrained himself, instead fixing Kiryu with a serious look. It was rather refreshing to speak to a vampire who did not value his status much at all. And infuriating, too. Not that that was stopping Kaname from drawing this out. He looked up and met the boy's gaze. "I demand that you tell me how bad you are."

Kiryu was startled, his eyes now wide open. He stared at the pureblood for a long moment, caught off guard, before his expression closed down again. Kaname abruptly missed that open face. The boy coughed. "What?" he asked, sounding slightly shocked, as if he thought the pureblood were joking—which he definitely was not.

"The bloodlust, Kiryu," Kaname replied with, eyes watching the boy's every move. "Tell me how bad it is now, tell me that you're not Falling—or are you? Is that why you can't bring yourself to stay near Yuki for long?" Kiryu flinched. "I didn't think you had a soft spot..."

"Shut up!" The boy was shouting at him and Kaname almost smiled again. This was far too entertaining for him, and part of him wanted to keep this going for as long as possible. But sadly, he couldn't, not when Kiryu's head lowered and he muttered something lowly—too quiet for even Kaname's hearing to pick up. A moment later, Kiryu looked up, a fierce look to his eyes. "Yes, Kuran, I'm getting worse." The boy sneered at him. "Is it that fucking obvious, huh? Really, vampire? Is it?"

Kaname tilted his head to one side. "Worse?" he asked, as if he didn't already know that. The boy nodded, not looking at all happy to be having a somewhat civilised talk with the vampire he probably hated most in the school. But then his gaze softened, and it confused Kaname. "Kiryu?" he asked and when the boy didn't reply, he moved forwards a step.

"Yes, it's getting worse, you stupid vampire, and it will continue to get worse," the boy muttered, falling to lean against the door. Kaname pushed away from the windowsill, sending an absent thought to slide the window itself closed. "Unless...unless it can be lifted..." The boy's voice was quieter now, definitely more subdued than Kaname had ever heard it before.

That last statement, though, confused Kaname. He frowned at the boy for a long moment, watching as Kiryu closed his eyes, fingers tightened in the shirt he was wearing—his Day Class uniform, to be exact. "Unless what can be lifted?" Kaname coaxed gently, slightly demandingly. The boy's eyes abruptly flew open and focused on the pureblood. "Kiryu, what are you talking about?"

The boy looked shocked that he'd even said it, like it was some kind of huge secret he couldn't tell anyone, lest he get hurt. Kaname waited, watching him closely, but the boy turned his face away, his expression closed. "It's nothing," Kiryu snapped, tone low and dangerous. "What do you even care?"

Kaname considered the question for a moment. Why _did _he care? Was it because the boy was important to Yuki? Was it because Kaname himself might actually care, about _Kiryu_? Kaname didn't know yet. But he intended to find out. The pureblood cleared his throat, trying to get the prefect to look at him, but the boy ignored his attempt at attention gathering.

"I care, Kiryu," he began, choosing his words carefully, "because you are important to Yuki. She would be very upset if anything were to happen to you." Kaname moved closer, watching as the boy's eyes flickered towards him once. "And I care because you are putting yourself and everyone else in the Academy in danger. Do you know how dangerous an 'E can be?" The boy flinched again at the mention of the lowest level of vampire there was. "The entire school would be destroyed in moments, without fail."

"Kuran," the boy said warningly. "Get out! Leave me alone... I don't fucking care where you go—just leave me alone!" Kaname watched the boy for a moment. Kiryu sounded almost...broken somehow. It confused him-to see the boy looking so down, so confused. Kaname frowned at him, moving closer. The prefect didn't protest as the pureblood came to a stop in front of him, placing one hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not leaving, Kiryu," Kaname murmured, leaning down and deliberately putting himself in a position where the boy couldn't help but notice the vein in his neck. "Not until you feed. We both know you can't resist it for much longer." Kaname placed his free hand over Kiryu's where it clutched his chest. "I can feel it, you know. I can feel your hunger rising." He peered up at the boy, watching the boy's face from the corner of his eyes. The boy was shaking, breathing hard as his gaze lingered on the pureblood's throat. "Why fight it so hard?"

"You don't know what you're asking me to do, Kaname," Kiryu murmured, slipping up by using the pureblood's first name. Kaname blinked but didn't move. The hunter groaned and looked away, flinching as the pureblood's hand slipped down to rest over his abdomen. "Don't-"

"You have internal bleeding, Kiryu," Kaname said, cutting right over Zero's words. "If we don't do something now, you'll only get worse." The pureblood shifted the hand on Zero's shoulder to the boy's chin, bringing the boy's face back around towards his. "Just bite me already, Zero."

The boy froze for a moment, bright red eyes wide as he stared at Kaname. "What?" he asked, but the pureblood shook his head, removing his hand from the boy's abdomen and raising it to brush his hair away from his neck. Kaname listened to the boy as Zero's breathing hitched. "Kaname..."

The pureblood sighed. "Kiryu," he said, tightening his grip on the boy's chin. "Don't make me force you."

Zero groaned again, closing his eyes to block out the temptation of Kaname's neck. "You really don't know what you're asking me to do," the boy muttered, biting his lip. Kaname released Kiryu's chin, raising his hand towards his neck.

"I think I do, Kiryu," Kaname replied, pressing down on his neck with a sharp fingernail. Kiryu inhaled sharply. "Now, stop resisting. You'll only make it worse later on." Zero's eyes flew open as Kaname spoke and he shook his head, forcing himself to look away. As the pureblood's fingernail sliced into his skin, blood began to well up around it, drawing the ex-human's attention back to it. "Now shut up," the pureblood hissed, "and just drink already."

Zero glared at the pureblood for a moment before he released his shirt and reached out to him, his other hand clutching the edge of his mattress harder. "You'll regret this, Kaname," Zero warned, right hand snagging the pureblood by the wrist and jerking him forwards. He put his lips by Kaname's ear. "I warned you, Kuran. Remember that." Kaname didn't reply, waiting for the boy to move.

Suddenly, Zero's left hand was tilting his chin up and to the pureblood's right. Kaname froze, anticipation threading through his gut while Zero drew it out. Fingers curled into the pureblood's hair, holding his head in position gently. "Zero?" Kaname asked, heartbeat pounding in his ears. The boy didn't reply for a long moment. "Zero, are-?"

"Shut up," the boy muttered, releasing Kaname's wrist only to slide his arm around the other vampire's waist and draw him closer. "Don't make me change my mind." Kaname chuckled, gaze on the boy's face again. Zero's eyes were burning bright red, betraying to anyone who cared to look just how badly off he was. The pureblood waited, opening his mouth to speak but abruptly closing it again when Zero's lips brushed his neck, smearing blood across it. He inhaled sharply, anticipating a bite-that didn't come. The boy was hesitating-but not for long. Soon enough, Kaname's breath caught in his throat as Zero's fangs pierced his flesh.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **_And there you go. Chapter 5! Enjoy!_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed, by the way! And to:_

**LuanRina:**_I know! I'm such a tease... It's a bit of a habit of mine. But I bet you love it~ Enjoy!_

**Jem'apelle Croissant:** _Partly helps, but yeaaah. You might like the_ rest_of it, too. And yes, here's the continuation of that biting-scene. Enjoy!_

**irmina, dawn chase: **_Oh, you'll find out. Eventually. Gah, now I'm just being cruel. And sadly, they don't really have a history... Yet. And, uh, the first names? Well, Zero, apparently, isn't as cold as he seems in the manga/anime. This is a little AU-ish, really. Okay, a lot. either way, I hope you guys enjoy this!_

Seriously guys. I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: And Curiosity, too.<strong>

Blood roared in Kaname's ears as Zero fed from him, drinking deeply in large, needy gulps. The pureblood's eyes fluttered closed as he leaned into the bite. Kiryu was gentle with him, but he drank just a little too fast. It wasn't like Kaname's pureblooded vampire body couldn't keep up with it, but still, it made his head spin-in a deliciously sensual yet twisted way. Kaname tried to keep his mouth shut, but the pureblood was sure a moan or two had slipped out. Not that Zero would hear it or remember it, if Kaname was lucky.

Several long minutes passed as the boy drank and, eventually, Kaname had to protest as the room began to spin sickeningly, yet Zero did not stop. Not until the pureblood sagged against him, holding onto the other vampire-mostly because he couldn't stay on his feet, let alone do more than try to breathe evenly and smother his cries when he could. Kaname's vision darkened dangerously-

-and abruptly, Zero pulled away, fangs sliding free gently as the boy realised just how far he'd drained the pureblood. "I'm sowwy," the boy said, words slurring together as he held the other vampire. "I...didn't me...mean to drain you so 'ar, Ka-na-me."

Kaname exhaled carefully, absently rubbing his hand over the boy's side. "It's..okay, Kiryu," he muttered sleepily. "You can't help it, but now I need you to forget this..." Kaname forced himself to straighten up and looked down at the boy, who was now sprawled across his bed, fast asleep. "Good boy," he added, moving to sit beside the ex-human while he recovered. "Shit... That...was intense." He rubbed at his neck, wincing as he irritated the raw bitemark. The pureblood pulled his hand away only to find it smeared with blood. He'd never been bitten before, so it had been a rather...new experience. At least, not in his current body.

Zero didn't move as Kaname sat beside him, eyes on the boy. The silver-haired, younger vampire was murmuring softly in his sleep, saying something that the pureblood couldn't make out. It didn't really matter, but it sparked his curiousity none-the-less. But Kaname resisted, if only to put a little distance between himself and the boy he was currently watching. Eventually, the pureblood stood and slipped across the room, into the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, studying himself, and the almost-healed bitemarks left by Zero's fangs. Blood marred his neck and soaked his shirt, feeling slightly sticky against his skin. He would have to wash off the blood before he returned to the dorm; but his shirt? He couldn't do much about that. If they asked, he'd tell them something, spin some small lie about accidentally brushing against a branch and scratching himself. They would believe it, would believe whatever he told them-_mostly_. He was their pureblood, wasn't he? And those below his status were meant to follow those above their status. It was how their world worked, though, of course, there were a few he was lenient with, some who showed him respect but didn't give him blind believe or obedience. It was refreshing, sometimes.

Slowly, he turned the tap on and bent over the sink, splashing water over his face and reaching for the cloth Zero had left sitting on the side of the sink. Kaname slowly wiped the blood off his neck, grimacing as it sent the overly sensitive skin off. Zero's fangs had left their mark, making the skin right over his bite area even more sensitive than it had been before. Kaname didn't mind. What he did mind, though, was what Zero had said right before he'd bitten him. Something about not knowing what he'd done? Kaname shook his head, rising the cloth under the water. What did that mean? Zero wasn't normally so regretful, but then again, he had seemed so sad lately. The pureblood was _definitely _curious now. One moment, the ice-prince of a prefect, who hid behind his anger at the world, was prickly and defensive, and the next, he suddenly cared about others-about _Kaname_, of all things.

The pureblood didn't understand at all. How was it possible that this boy could be so very strange? He was an enigma that the pureblood wanted to figure out. And he would figure him out, even if it killed him. Kaname didn't really care; he just wanted to know what the boy was hiding. And who wouldn't? The boy was beautiful, in a sense, despite the frosty façade he presented to the world. Not that Kaname would tell anyone he thought the boy was beautiful. It was rather silly, really, wasn't it? Thinking that a boy, of all people, was beautiful. Kaname didn't know what was wrong with him. One moment, he hated the boy and found him irritating, and now he found the boy attractive? Honestly, he was going to drive himself crazy if he kept thinking about it.

And now that he noticed it, he suddenly remembered that he had to hurry up and get back to the Moon Dorm. Before his vampires noticed something wrong, like the fact that his shirt was stained with his own blood and that he now smelt like the prefect. Which wasn't exactly a good thing. Bad, would be more likely. Kaname abruptly put the cloth down and shut off the water, glancing towards the boy fast asleep on the bed on the other side of the room. Well, now. Kaname could wait, couldn't he? To find out what Zero Kiryu's secret was, that is. And he would wait-at least until the boy decided to tell Kaname his secrets. Kaname smiled and stepped back into the bedroom, watching the boy's chest rise and fall with each breathe. Right now, though, he had to leave. And leave he did, disappearing out the window quickly and silently while the humans slept and the vampires learned of math and politics, and other things. Sometimes secrets weren't always meant to be kept forever.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Yuki frowned at the empty seat<strong>_behind her and Yori, glancing towards her friend in concern. "Where is he?" she whispered to the other girl, who looked up every now and then to give Yuki an odd look. "He's supposed to be here by now! What is he doing? Sleeping?"

Yori chuckled, placing her book down on the desk in front of her. "I wouldn't put it past him, Yuki," she said, glancing towards the door. The teacher had left several minutes ago-something about an emergency staff meeting-and hadn't returned. Yet, that is. Neither girl was bothered by his absence. But the absence of their friend-and Yuki's brother, of course-was worrying them. Zero hadn't turned up for class all day so far, and it was nearing the end of school and the change-over for the vampiric students. Not that everyone knew that, of course. "You both work so hard, up all night patrolling and hardly sleeping. I don't doubt that he's fallen asleep somewhere again. Probably under some tree or in the stables."

Yuki nodded. Her friend was right; he was probably sleeping somewhere. Sleeping when he should have been in school and learning things. He did pass all his tests, though, so Yuki supposed going to class might not exactly be necessary for him. But it still bothered her when she didn't see him. She worried, so, so much. "I guess you're right," Yuki muttered, scowling at the empty seat before she turned back around to face the front. The teacher walked in a moment later.

"Aren't I always?" Yori said, throwing the other girl a smirk. They fell into a fit of giggles, earning a glare from the teacher. Yuki merely smiled at him and turned back to her books. Yori was doing the same beside her. "Yuki? Do you think he's okay?"

Yuki didn't need to ask who to know exactly which he Yori meant. She was asking is Zero was okay. Yuki nodded. "I think so," she told the other girl, frowning and biting her lip. "But he's been so distant lately, and that worries me. I mean, why is he doing that? Is it because he's struggling with something or what?" She sighed and crossed her arms on the desks, letting her head fall to rest on them. "I don't know what to do with him sometimes, Yori. I really don't."

Yori sighed as well. "You'll figure something out. You always do, Yuki."

"I guess you're right," Yuki muttered, smothering a yawn and inadvertently repeating her earlier words. "You always seem to be right, Yori." Yori smiled at the sleepy girl beside her as Yuki fell asleep.

"Aren't I always," Yori said softly, tilting her head to one side as she watched the girl. When she looked up, the teacher was looking at Yuki rather pointedly. Yori shrugged, as if to say '_I don't know anything_' before giving him the most innocent-looking smile she could possibly dredge up. The teacher gave her a fleeting look of disbelief before he returned to teaching the class. Somehow, Yori knew Yuki and Zero, and maybe herself, would be in trouble later. She found she didn't mind much at all.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Zero stirred, groaning,<strong>_ to find slanting sunlight drifting in through his open bedroom window and tickling his skin-_wait a minute, open window?_ He blinked and bolted upright in the bed, frowning and confused. The prefect looked around the room for a moment, trying to see if anything was out of place, to remember what he did last night. He grabbed his head after a moment, blinking away the dizziness that overcame him as he stood. _What the hell happened last night?_ he thought, stumbling over to the bathroom and turning the water on, _hard_. He didn't remember a thing past... Hell, he didn't even remember returning to his room.

Wait a minute. He looked up, catching sight of himself in the mirror. Why...why was there blood all over his shirt? And his face, and his neck... Zero tore off the shirt, checking his chest and neck for wounds. He found none. Vaguely, he became aware of a strong metallic taste in his mouth, like iron and chocolate. He frowned, licking his lips and tasting it. _There was blood in his mouth._ What the hell? He panicked. _Who did I attack? Who did I kill? _He stared with horror-filled eyes at his reflection as vague memories of speaking to someone drifted through his mind, something about a warning.

_You don't know what you're asking me to do._ He'd said a name; he knew he did, but it was blurred, forgotten. Zero's frown returned._ You really don't know what you're asking me to do. _Annoyance, someone telling him to _just shut up and drink_. Another warning, his own; _You'll regret this._ A long pause as he tried to remember the rest, to remember the _name_, and then; _I warned you, Kuran. Remember that. _Well. _Now _he had the name. Kaname fucking Kuran. He shouldn't have been surprised. There was also the fact that he remembered nothing after that last line.

"Remember that," he muttered, staring at his reflection. Scowling, he grabbed the cloth in the sink and froze as a familiar scent drifting up from it. _Blood._ But whose was it? He didn't know the scent of _this _person's blood. But then he brought the cloth up to his face and _sniffed _it. The pureblood's familiar scent flooded his senses. Zero scowled and threw it away, in the general direction of his clothing hamper. Well, now he knew _that_, too. "Damn pureblood," he muttered, shuffling around in the bathroom cupboard, retrieving another cloth and shoving it under the running water. "Arrogant jerk."

He washed his face, neck and chest quickly but thoroughly, trying to remove all trace of the arrogant pureblood's blood as quickly as possible. And his scent, which seemed to smother him. And the taste of his blood-the boy washed his mouth out. With _soap_. Zero was pissed off. Not only had the other vampire invaded his personal space, but he'd forced Zero into something he hadn't wanted to do. Kuran was not going to get away with it.

When he felt he was done and the blood gone, he checked himself in the mirror again. He was glad to find all traces of blood gone, but he still smelt like Kuran. _The bastard._ He was going to have to shower to get rid of _that_. One thing was for sure; Kaname Kuran was not going to get away with it-despite Zero truly being a bit of a softie. He was really a pureblood, after all, wasn't he? And when purebloods were pissed off, they got even. Then again, there was no reason to left Kaname think he remembered anything at all-not that Zero did remember much. Most of the previous night was still unknown to him. Damned pureblood had tried to wipe his memory, tried to make him forget. Vampiric memory-altering tricks had never really worked very well on Zero, to be honest. Well, there was no reason why Zero couldn't play dumb for a little while, was there? He'd remember, with a little time. And then he'd have a little _fun_.

But first, wasn't it time for class now? No, it wasn't. Judging by the position of the sun and the way the light flittered in through his window, it was clearly closer to the evening change-over. Zero groaned but got ready for the evening, showering and changing as fast as possible, the water being freezing cold, just to make sure he was actually awake and not still asleep. He wasn't. When he was done with the shower and was freshly changed, Zero set about pulling on the halter for his gun, adjusting it until it sat just-so before sliding the gun into the holster, snug against his side. Satisfied and with that done, Zero shrugged on his jacket before leaving the room, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He hadn't, which was good.

Zero found Yuki outside the Moon Dorm gates, trying to hold back the horde of screaming fangirls as the gates began to open and the girls tried their best to stampede the Night he appeared behind Yuki and between them and the Night Class students, they hesitated. He didn't give them a chance to regroup, barking at them to either stick in line or get back to their dorms. Predictably, they chose to get in line. Zero smirked slightly, hiding it mostly behind that stoic façade, and moved off to the side, but not before her heard a soft 'Thank you' from Yuki. He flashed her a smile and leaned against a tree a few metres off the path.

Kaname Kuran lead the vampire out of the Moon Dormitory and through the crowd of fangirls, who were slightly more subdued than usual and glancing towards the silver-haired prefect with growing curiosity. Kuran only glanced towards the boy once, taking in his state of health before heading to class, after having a brief word with Yuki, who, predictably (and much like the fangirls lingering around the gates), blushed furiously and stammered a reply. Zero smiled slightly while he watched the exchange, unaware of several of Kaname's inner circle studying him closely.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Takuma was watching his friend<strong>_and leader closely as he waited with Senri beside and slightly behind Kaname while they lingered in foyer of the Moon Dorms. He could see how Kaname kept touching his neck and then swiftly lowered his hand, as he had realised he wasn't consciously doing so. It made the green-eyed noble curious. Why was their pureblood leader touching his neck? And then he remembered; Kaname had mentioned something to him about Zero the other night, something about when the hunter-turned-vampire next went into bloodlust. Takuma coloured slightly, lowering his head. _Kaname-sama and Zero Kiryu?_he thought, biting his lip, unknowingly attracting the attention of his friend and lover.

"Takuma? Is something wrong?" Shiki's voice made the blonde jump and look up, embarrassed to be caught thinking of Kaname and Zero together at all. Shiki raised an eyebrow at Takuma's flushed cheeks but didn't comment more, because, clearly, he had caught the blonde thinking something he probably shouldn't have been thinking-and right before class, too. "Nevermind. You seem fine now." And then Shiki had the audacity to wink at him. Takuma scowled.

"Senri!" he hissed, and then froze. Kaname was looking towards them, one eyebrow raised as if to say 'is there a problem?' while Senri smirked beside Takuma. They both watched the pureblood as Takuma nodded his head, indicating that they were fine. As soon as he'd turned away, Takuma noticed that Kaname's fingers were back on his neck.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kaname scowled, touching his neck yet again<strong>_**.** He was very aware of why he was doing it, and it was distracting him. Zero was on the other side of the gates now-he could feel the spot where the boy's fangs had sunk into his skin tingling; it ached, as if they were still there even though he knew they weren't. It was distracting, and even worse so when Takuma and some of the others began to notice. He to force himself to remove his hand and try very hard not to touch it; it didn't work-ten minutes later, there were out of the dorm and approaching the gate, and the tingling, achy sensation was getting worse. He had to cover it with his hand, as if he thought it was bleeding-which it clearly _wasn't_.

"Kaname-sama?" someone called, attracting his attention, though he momentarily ignored it as the gates opened slowly. "Kaname-sama?" He knew who it was-Takuma; the only vampire who could currently walk beside him, as he was a few paces ahead of the rest. He glanced towards the other vampire and forced himself to remove his hand. He knew very well that Takuma, Aido and Ruka, at least, had been there when he'd entered the dorm and began asking questions, for they could smell blood on him; Kaname's blood. He's brushed them off with a small lie about a branch scratching him while he took a walk, but he'd seen in Takuma's eyes that the blonde knew he was lying. "I, um, may be out of line," the boy said, leaning in close. "But I think it might be a very good idea to refrain from touching your bite area." He lowered his voice even more and said, "It's quite obvious-at least to me, Kaname-sama-that someone has fed from you recently."

They passed through the now wide open gates as Takuma said this, and Kaname was glad that he'd already removed his hand from his neck. Takuma cast a glance towards the silver-haired prefect now lingering in the shade of a tree. Kaname raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell, Takuma, whatever do you mean by that?" he asked the blonde, who sighed and pulled away.

"I mean exactly what I say, Kaname-sama," the blonde replied, "without having to name names, as it were."

They exchanged glances and, this time, it was Kaname who sighed. Takuma merely fell back a step and they slowed. Kaname stopped beside Yuki, thanked her for her hard work and then looked towards Zero. Unbeknownst to him and Takuma, several others from his inner circle were also looking in the boy's direction. Kiryu was glaring in their direction-not that it bothered him, as Kaname heard Yuki reply and bid him good luck with class. He smiled at her and they continued on to class in comfortable silence, except for the chatter of the vampires behind Kaname and Takuma.

"I know how it feels," Takuma suddenly said, smiling slightly. Kaname looked towards him and blinked, resisting the urge to yet again touch his neck. Zero's fading presence was doing nothing to stop his neck from aching like hell. "He bit me, too, remember?"

"You mean K-"

"Yes, him." Takuma gave Kaname a meaningful look, cutting off the pureblood's words. Kaname let it slide-this time. He scowled and turned to face the front again, letting Takuma speak his mind, albeit in a low voice. "It tingles whenever he's near, doesn't it?" Kaname nodded; his only reply to the half-statement, half-question. "There's something very strange with him, too. I don't know what it is yet, though." Takuma shrugged and fell silent, letting Kaname think; he'd read all the paperwork Seiren had managed to gather on the Kiryus and especially those on Zero, but he hadn't found much, really. Nothing more than the usual stuff, and a distinct lack of medical papers for the last four years, at the most. It was rather odd, and Kaname didn't know how to explain it. Not yet, at least.

"What are your theories?" Kaname asked softly, absently reaching up to touch his neck again. Takuma cleared his throat meaningfully, making Kaname's hand drop back to his side. He opted to busy his hands with the books he held under his left arm. Takuma did not comment on _that_. "Takuma?"

"Oh, right..." There was a long pause as Takuma paced beside him, obviously deep in thought. When he blinked and met the gaze Kaname had on him, he sighed again, a slight flush colouring his cheeks. "I honestly don't know, but we do know he's a vampire now..."

Kaname froze mid-step. "We?" he asked, watching the noble.

Takuma, caught out, stuttered a bit before eventually saying; "Me, Aido, Kain and Ruka." Another pause, another caught-out look. Takuma sighed, again. "Shiki and Rima, too. And clearly Seiren knows, even if she won't say it."

Kaname relaxed. That was only his inner circle, and he saw no problems with them knowing, even though they both knew Takuma, Aido, Kain and Ruka had helped Kiryu, somewhat. It was mainly Takuma, though. Kaname nodded and started walking again. "It's fine," he said before Takuma could apologize. "Just don't let that become public knowledge."

"So," Takuma began, almost too casually. Kaname instantly knew something was up as he turned to watch Takuma carefully. The blonde seemed oblivious to the look-or he ignored it. Probably the latter, but then again, it could have been both. Kaname didn't mind either way, though. "That was your first bite?"

Kaname's gaze narrowed. That was going one step too far, but this was Takuma he was speaking to, so he supposed it didn't matter so much. "Yes," Kaname admitted quietly. "In a sense." He didn't elaborate. _Let Takuma think what he will of it,_ he thought, smiling slightly at the idea of that. The blonde's mind would probably end up in the gutter, thanks to all that boy love manga he seemed to like. It, in fact, probably wasn't far from the truth, though.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** _Sorry it's so late. I've been busy with moving and things, but I'm hopefully all settled in now! So, you should be seeing a lot more chapters coming. Meanwhile, I just have to watch two cats and make sure they play nice. Should be easy! (I hope...) Anyway, here's the chapter and a few replies to your comments._

**irmina:** _He will do. Right now, he's just a little (okay, more than a little) suspicious of Zero. I'm getting to the part where they start trusting each other... Well, Zero trusting Kaname more than Kaname trusting Zero, but anyway... Enjoy this next chapter!_

**rosaikibu: **_Oh, this secret isn't so complicated, but I guess not everyone's reading between the lines, so to speak. I can say it's a curse, without giving too much away. You'll find out eventually. Enjoy!_

**Starry Night: **_Zero's a vampire. I don't think there are many medical papers, if any at all, for the last four years. Enjoy the chapter!_

**LuanRina: **_Ahahaha, oh yes. Kaname, you shouldn't ignore Zero when he warns you not to do something-this bite could be a Serious Thing by the end of this story. I guess we'll see, won't we? XD And no, Zero had an idea of how things might go, but he wasn't completely sure in which direction they'd go in. But now he knows. Oh, dear. And is Kaname getting closer to Zero's secret? Probably... Not that he knows anything quite yet... Hehehe. And yes, I just have to torment Kaname with his feelings about the boy until the UST is, well, resolved. Gods, I'm so cruel to these boys. And dear gods. Yuki. I have plans for her. So far, the Yuki/Kaname part follows the anime/manga, I think. Up until the point where Rido may or may not actually manage to kill her... Or was I saving that for the possible sequel? Whoops... Anyway, here you go! Enjoy~_

**Jem'appelle Croissant: **_Hahaha. You amuse me. Yes, Kaname. _Dream_of Zero, get flustered. Oh, I have so much more torment saved up for you. Just you wait, you naughty pureblood! Mwuahahaha! Ahem... So, yeah. I feel Kaname deserves this pain in the neck, don't you? *winks* As for there being more to the Zero-is-a-pureblood thing? There may be. Perhaps something similar to Kaname and his awakening, to the thanks of Rido? You'll see-maybe. And don't worry; there will more a lot more Kaname/Zero moments-and especially the Kaname getting bothered moments. Ahahaha, enjoy!_

**chacra: **_o.O Have you been sneaking into my bedroom at night and reading my notes? (I was so certain no one knew Shizuka and Ichiru were gong to turn up...)__I'm sure you have been. *eyes suspiciously* But yes, these two will be turning up, jsut not exactly at the Academy. Although, you will be seeing them-eventually. Not just yet, though. Still a few things to put into motion just now, but they will be making an appearance. Maybe by the 12th chapter? Maybe earlier. Depends on how I go with my notes and stuff. Heh. I think the twins meeting again for the first time in four years may not be as sweet or loving... Oh, and yes. Kaname and Zero, being lovers in a past life? You do realize that Kaname IS Kaname The Ancestor in this story? I'd say there's probably a high chance of this, yes. But we've yet to see how Zero deals with his little curse right now. Enjoy!_

_Thanks for the reviews, guys. You lot are awesome, to put up with me and my cruelness. I don't give much away, do I? And now, on with the chapter. Enjoy!  
><em>_  
><em>__As usual, I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others.__**_  
><em>**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Playing Cat &amp; Mouse.<strong>

_**Several days passed, **_and the incident between Kaname and Zero, in which Zero drank Kaname's blood, seemed to be forgotten by the prefect. As far as Kaname could tell, anyway. Not it really mattered much; he had other, slightly more important things to do. Which is exactly what he was doing, sitting in his study, eyes on the chessboard set up on his coffee table.

He studied the board for a long moment before picking up one of his pieces; the white queen. The king sat exactly where it should be on the board for this game; one step behind the queen. Kaname moved the queen forward a space, setting it down gently as his gaze drifted over the rest of the board. One white knight was on the far side of the board, sitting right beside the black queen, which was more than halfway towards his side of the board. The other white knight sat to the left of the white king and queen, ready to shield them from any unseen advances.

Kaname picked up the knight from where it sat near his king and queen. "What am I to do with _you_?" he murmured, frowning slightly. He sighed and put the knight back down, right where it was before. "I am starting to think that you are not a knight at all," he added, a little louder as he took in the board, "Zero Kiryu."

He moved a black bishop up the board until it sat in front of the knight on his side of the board, two in front and one to the side; the perfect place for the knight to easily take care of it. In response, he moved the king level with the queen. He frowned, not liking the move at all. It was too soon. He sighed, _again_. Everything was far too soon for his liking. He would have to put a few plans into motions, but first...

"Your move, my friend," he whispered, leaning back in his chair and turning his head towards the window. _Your move, indeed, Uncle._ He would not be surprised if the man threw something completely unseen at him at any moment, something random. _Probably just more level E's,_ he thought, scowling. _Predictable. _He would not be surprised if _that_did, indeed, happen. And his uncle was nothing, if not, extremely predictable, even with all the aces up his sleeves.

Several minutes of rather calming silence later, there was a knock on the door, bringing Kaname's head up and his mind out of yet more memories-memories of a time not so long ago that he would rather forget. _The crying of a baby woke him, and then there was something warm on his chest, struggling-_Kaname cut off that trail of thought as he called a rather delayed 'come in'.

Takuma entered the room cautiously, knowing that the pureblood was in a not-so-bright mood. "Kaname-sama," he began, taking in the half-played game of chess (as seen in his eyes, anyway) and the rather dishevelled look of their precious pureblood leader, "there is a letter from the council. It seems they are requesting your presence at yet another meeting."

Kaname scowled. "I'm not going," he deadpanned, turning away from the suddenly-startled blonde. He didn't add anything and the other vampire frowned, moving further into the room-a bold move, and one he knew Kaname wouldn't punish. Not yet, that is.

"Kaname-sama-"

"No, Takuma," Kaname said, suddenly sounding weary. "I'm sick of them, the lot of them. With their disgusting, barely-concealed threats and offers, and the way they pine after my blood and body. I refuse to go to them anymore, to let _them _dictate _my _actions." He stood abruptly and paced to the window, his eyes finding a gleam of silver hair in the faint moonlight. Kiryu was up and about at this hour? "I am not going to stand back and let them trample all over me anymore."

"Kaname..." Takuma sound worried and he'd even dropped the 'sama' prefix. Kaname didn't let it bother him; Takuma had been his friend since childhood, other than Seiren. Not that that childhood was a normal one. He'd been plagued by memories, blurred and vague, lost in a sea of unknown things that he only began to understand at a later date.

"I think I may need to make a move to dissolve the council and retake the throne." Kaname watched Kiryu through the window as he made his way towards the Headmaster's home. The pureblood's gaze narrowed. _What is he up to?_He didn't move from the window, though, gazing out at the moonlight Academy grounds. It was very early in the morning for humans and getting late for vampires. Classes had ended at two, and it was now close to four in the morning. High time for any normal, sane vampire to be going to bed, but that was the thing. Kaname was anything but normal. He was sane, though, which was a good thing, compared to some purebloods he knew.

"And how do you plan to do that without the council alerting the Association to the fact that you have gone insane?" Takuma asked softly, reminding the pureblood of the consequences of such an action. Kaname sighed and moved away from the window. "You cannot make a move on them without damning yourself, Kaname."

"I know, Takuma," he said, moving to retake his seat and take another look at the chessboard. "Believe me, I know." He picked up the white knight on his side of the board again. "That's why it's such a risk." The pureblood's voice dropped to a whisper. "So many moves to make, so many mistakes that can be made yet they are worth it in the end." He put the knight down gently, slightly closer to the king and queen. "So many things to do yet so little time."

"Isn't that always the way, Kaname-sama?" Takuma's voice made him look up; the other vampire sounded sad, worried. He looked towards the blonde vampire and studied him for a long moment. "But I believe in you; you can best my grandfather if no one else can."

Kaname nodded absently, listening to Takuma as the blonde vampire put the letter down on a table near the door and retreated from the room, leaving Kaname to his musing. _I will have to talk to Yuki_, he thought, touching his queen lightly before withdrawing his fingers. He glanced towards the knight then to the king. _If I am to turn her, she needs to know the truth-or as much of it as I can give her._ He leaned back in his seat, propping his chin up on his right hand as his gaze again went to the window. _I hope she understands. _He stared up at the moon, his mind partly on the game he played with his uncle, Rido, and partly on what Kiryu was up to. After all, what use was a puppet if he did not divulge his secrets to the puppeteer? _Yes_, Kaname mused,_the game is only just beginning._

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><p><em><strong>Zero scowled at the headmaster,<strong>_ well aware of the way the man was pouting at him, eyes big and round behind the glasses. He was trying to use his puppy dog look on Zero, and the boy was not going to stand for it. Besides, it was a ridiculous request, to be honest. The last few times he'd headed out on a sanctioned hunt, he'd nearly lost it completely, and they wanted him to go out again, only weeks after his latest brush with disaster? Were they _trying _to kill him? Yes, yes they were.

"No, Cross," he snarled, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood in front of the headmaster's desk. "No more hunts. I'm not doing it. I swear they're trying to kill me." _If only they knew what I truly was. They'd have no qualms in executing me if they did know. _Zero watched as the older man sighed, dropped the facade and sat back in his chair, fingers templed as he looked over them at the boy. _I know too much; far too much. I could be a liability. _If _they knew. And I don't intend for them to find any time soon, either._

Kaien Cross studied the boy before him, who was glaring steadily at him now, despite the promise of a very large sum of money if he killed the level E. If he waited long enough, he knew the boy would give in. But not yet. "Zero, my dear son," he began, only to be cut off by Zero when he tried to continue.

"I am _not _your 'dear son', Cross. So cut the act." Zero was furious with the old man, but he wasn't going to let Cross bait him either-which was partly too late, anyway, since he'd snapped about the son thing. If only Cross knew the real Zero Kiryu. "Now, tell me the mission straight or I'm leaving and you can tell the Association _exactly why _I refused the hunt."

Cross and Zero stared at each other for a long moment before the headmaster sighed and leaned back in his chair, disengaging his hands from each other to straighten his glasses. Zero merely waited while the old man leaned down to one a draw and produced a rather thick file from it, slamming the drawer shut and putting the file down on the desk.

"What is this?" Zero asked, frowning at the file while trying _not _to appear too confused. What the hell had Cross done now? But when Cross made no move to open that file, it seemed that Zero would have to. With a sigh, he uncrossed his arms and stepped forwards, touching the file. He looked up at Cross for a moment before opening it with an encouraging nod from the bespectacled man. Inside was a long list of names. Beside them were descriptions of how they died.

Zero stared at it for a long moment, not really comprehending what he was reading. Every single one of those people had 'died' in the same way, and now every single one had been reported as a level E. Zero wasn't quite sure what to think of it as he took in each name. There were photos, too. Some of them he recognised; because he had already put them down. There had to be at least two hundred or more people on the list, all living in the town just outside of the Academy or nearby towns and the surrounding areas. He looked up at Cross, who watched him with an impassive look.

"_What_," he demanded, repeating himself, "_is this?_"

"That," Cross said, nodding at the file, "is a list of every _known _level E in the area." He took off his glasses, cleaned them slowly and put them back on. "As you can see, Zero, it's a long list."

Zero snorted. "Oh, a very long one, indeed," he muttered, flipping through the file. He froze as he reached the last person on the list. Slowly, he pointed at the file, at the page with his name and his picture on it, and a short, detailed report on what had happened to him. "Cross...why am I in here?"

"Take a closer look," the old man said softly, watching him with sad eyes-not that Zero noticed, but he did as the man said and relaxed as he saw the large, bright red 'TAMED' written over his photo. Below it was also 'no longer deemed a hazard'. He frowned.

"Funny way of showing affection, Cross." There was a long pause before Zero spoke again, meeting the headmaster's eyes. "Fine, I'll go on the mission." Cross leapt out his seat gleefully. "_But_," Zero snapped before he could get too excited, "only on one condition."

"Anything for my Zero!" The headmaster exclaimed.

Zero's lips thinned out. "You remove me from this list."

He had the satisfaction of seeing the old man's face fall before it brightened again. Zero ignored him as he stormed out of the room, leaving the old man alone in his office with a very thick file and a large list of names and faces. All the known level Es in the area. Zero only realised when he was halfway to the Academy gates that he hadn't actually asked Cross about what, _exactly_, he would have to do on the mission. Reluctantly, he turned around to go back to the headmaster's office and receive his actual orders.

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><p><em><strong>Takuma left Kaname alone <strong>_after telling him he had faith in the pureblood, though not with those exact words, of course. Still, the pureblood had gotten the message. And he had no doubt that Kaname had, either. But what worried him more were the letters his grandfather had been sending him. They were growing ever more disturbing with each new one he received. And Takuma didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Hey, Takuma," someone called, bringing the blonde's head up and attracting his attention. Aido was lingering in the hall. Takuma wasn't surprised to find that he hadn't moved far from Kaname's door after leaving the room. "What's up with Kaname-sama?"

Takuma shook his head and began walking, headed for the room he shared with Shiki. Aido was an annoyance at best, even with his intelligence and prowess in medicine and science. "Nothing is 'up', Aido," he snapped, shoving past him with a little more force than necessary. Aido pouted. "And Kaname-sama is fine, thank you very much. He just wishes not to be disturbed right now."

Aido, being Aido, followed Takuma as the green-eyed vampire stalked off down the hall. He didn't speak, but then, they were both headed to the same spot; the lounge where there'd discussed Kiryu not too long ago. Takuma was already pacing the room when Aido entered, taking a seat beside Kain and Ruka. Rima, Shiki and Seiren were already in the room.

"Okay," Takuma said, coming to a stop. "Kiryu is...different. I can feel it, but I just don't know what that is." He sighed and promptly sat down beside Senri, leaning into the other vampire. The group of vampires feel into a not-so-comfortable silence. It was Rima who eventually broke the silence.

"What if it was Kaname-sama who turned him?" she questioned thoughtfully, the phrase probably the most she had said all day. She gazed back blankly at all the looks she was given. "What? He is a turned vampire, isn't he?"

"Rima..." Takuma didn't know how to say it, but it turns out he didn't need to. Aido interrupted.

"Kaname-sama didn't turn Kiryu," he said, scowling. "The 'D told me he'd been turned four years ago, that he had to suffer through the blood lust and full turning all that time." Aido looked thoughtful for a moment. "Aren't there rumours of what happened to the Kiryus?"

Takuma sighed, knowing he was going to have to tell them about the attack on the Kiryus, even if they already knew-which they probably did. "Kiryu's family was attacked four years ago by a pureblood," he stated. A few blank looks, a few surprised and one indifferent. He wasn't surprised. "It was Shizuka Hio. She killed his parents, his twin brother and then turned him-as far as I know." And all he knew was from the council report he'd snagged from his grandfather's study that one time. And even then, the report had only been a condensed version of the Association's report, which was likely to be much longer and much more detailed.

"Oh," Rima said faintly, frowning slightly. She was perched on the arm of the chair that Shiki occupied, as she normally was. Aido, though, was annoyed. That was it? He sighed, watching as Ruka began pacing. Takuma sat very still, his head still on Senri's shoulder as he watched Ruka pace. Kain had taken hold of his cousin's hand, much to Aido's growing annoyance, though the blonde, ice-wielding vampire didn't protest.

"Are you certain it was Shizuka?" Ruka asked, frowning as she paced. Takuma's gaze narrowed and Senri slid an arm around him. Ruka was just being Ruka, and looking for any reason she could to provoke the silver-haired prefect.

"Yes," was Takuma's simple reply. It made Ruka sit down, fast, beside Aido. Silence reigned again for a long moment as they all stared at each other. Eventually, it got the better of them-or rather, _one _of them. And as usually, it was Aido.

"This is ridiculous," the blonde, ice-wielding vampire muttered, shaking off Kain's hand. "And getting us nowhere right now. I'm going to bed." He stood and left the room, leaving the rest of the pureblood's inner circle staring after him.

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><p><em><strong>Zero had decided that he'd <strong>_follow through with his mission another time. There was actually something rather important he'd prefer to do first-and it included one arrogant jerk of a pureblooded vampire. _How dare he try to erase my memories!_ Zero was angry, definitely angry. He remembered everything now-right down to the way Kaname had moaned while Zero had his fangs buried in the purebloods throat._ No, don't think about that! _But it was too late. He knew it was. Those noises had encouraged him, made him a little less careful.

He shook his head, trying to shake off his thoughts as he stalked along the bank of the lake. It was deep in the forest that made up most of the Academy's grounds, and Zero found it rather peaceful. It was a pity that that peacefulness was about to be broken. He could feel the pureblood approaching him; how could he not? It seemed his bite had, indeed, had some effect. He could feel a link to the pureblood, although it was very weak, vague. Barely there, actually. But still, he knew Kaname had the worst of it. After all, _he_ had _bitten _Kuran.

Suddenly, he looked up and to his left. Kuran stood beneath a tree, leaning against it with his arms crossed. The pureblood raised an eyebrow at him, gazing past him to take in the lake. Zero went very, very still. "Such a peaceful place, Kiryu," the pureblood murmured, and there was a slightly darker edge to his voice. "I didn't know you liked the lake."

Zero's gaze narrowed. "You're a bastard, _Kuran_," he snapped, hands fisted at his sides. "Trying to erase my memories, vampire? You should know that doesn't exactly work on me... Never did." He approached the other vampire, who was studying him with guarded eyes. "Now, tell me. _Why did you let me bite you?_" His voice was icy and low; Zero knew this, but he didn't care.

"It was me or _nothing_," Kuran replied, keeping his tone curt and controlled. It seemed they were both riding a fine line between calm and angry, vampiric natures at the fore. "Would you have preferred Yuki?" Kaname asked, gaze suddenly burning red. Zero backed up a step, suddenly realizing what he was doing.

He was acting like an angry pureblood-a pureblood who had been crossed. What was _wrong _with him? He turned his back on Kuran, moving towards the lake. "No," he whispered, tormented by the memory of what she smelt like, what her _blood _smelt like. He didn't want to do that to Yuki. He...he couldn't.

He felt more than saw Kuran nod. "That's what I thought," the pureblood said. Zero didn't move as he heard the other vampire approach him. His scent-the scent of _his blood_-washed over Zero, and the prefect found he had to close his eyes and look away from the pureblood, who now stood on his left. "I know now," Kuran murmured, "what you meant by your warning..."

Zero's blood seemed to freeze in his veins. "I don't know what you're talking about," the prefect muttered stiffly, gaze flickering to the pureblood and away again. He couldn't know...he couldn't. Zero caught movement out of the corner of his eyes and looked towards Kaname, only to find the pureblood rubbing at his neck. "Shit," he muttered, his eyes suddenly wide. "I didn't know..." What was he _doing_? He should have been _angry _at the other vampire for that mind-erasing trick...but now he was suddenly worried? Zero groaned and went to lean against a tree, ignoring the amused chuckle that left the pureblood's lips.

But of course, Zero _did _know. He knew exactly what might've happened if he bit Kuran, but not to _what _effect or how bad that effect might be. Now he knew. _Shit, shit, shit,_ he thought, glancing back towards the older vampire. _What did I do? Wait-does he _know _yet? _Zero shook his head. He couldn't be sure.

"I know you have secrets, Kiryu," the pureblood said and Zero, again, felt like his blood was frozen. _Please tell me you haven't figured it out,_Zero pleaded slightly, eyeing the pureblood warily, but Kaname wasn't look at him. He just kept staring out at the lake for a long moment, and then he finally turned back. "And I want to know what it is."

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><p><em><strong>Kaname watched as Zero shot him <strong>_a rather startled look. He frowned. What was that about? He hadn't said anything wrong, had he? No, no he hadn't. He just wanted to know what Kiryu was hiding. Was that so wrong? Yes, Kaname may have been feeling a little more like his old, ancient self lately, but that didn't mean he didn't want to let his vampiric side loose. He still remembered what he'd done with the darker part of his nature at the fore. He winced, looking away. He didn't want to repeat it.

Zero hadn't moved, though, when his gaze returned to the silver-haired hunter. "I want to be angry with you," the boy murmured at last, eyes drifting towards the ground. Kaname blinked. This was a side to the boy he'd not seen before. "But for some reason, I just can't." The pureblood watched as the prefect swallowed, dragging his gaze up from the ground. "It...it might be something to do with my biting you, but I don't know yet."

Kaname watched as he fell silent, biting his lip. "Don't do that," the pureblood snapped, swiftly looking away before his gaze drifted back to the boy. Zero looked confused. Good. Kaname didn't feel like explaining. "Your biting me...has affected me in strange ways." Zero blinked at him, a frown forming. "For instance, why does my neck react to your presence? I thought only purebloods who were bitten by another pureblood reacted like this."

The pureblood watch with growing amusement and a little confusion as Zero went deathly pale and pushed away from the tree. "Arrogant jerk," the boy muttered, shifting until he could back up without walking into a tree. "You're a bastard Kaname... I hate manipulative, high-handed pureblood arseholes who think they're better than others." Kaname could tell he was shaking now. Had he hit on something to do with Zero's secret just now? "You think you can boss me around, make me drink your blood? Think again. I'm not doing it, so why don't you go find one of your bloodsucker playboys to fuck around with! I'm not one of _your _mindless little minions!" With that, the boy turned and fled.

"Zero!" Kaname called after him, slightly shocked, but it was too late. The boy was already gone. What had that been about? He shook his head. Zero had called him a few things just now, when really, he wasn't any of them. Okay, manipulative? Yes. High-handed? Sometimes. But a jerk, an arsehole or a bastard? Kaname didn't think so. He was arrogant, though, and with good reason. He was technically vampire royalty. But that wasn't what had left him so...confused. Yes, that was the right word. No, it was the way Zero had gone so very pale when he'd made a comment about what it felt like for one pureblood to bite another...

Kaname frowned, moving away from the lake and into the forest, heading for the Moon Dorms. He just didn't understand that at all. What had the boy so upset? Had he truly hit on one of those secrets Zero kept? Kaname deduced that he probably had. But what was it about purebloods that upset the prefect? He sighed, decided it might just be better for him to sleep, which he hadn't been doing properly lately. He could figure out the boy later, and he would, too. He'd find out what the boy was hiding, and he didn't care how he did it. But first, sleep was definitely a good idea.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** _Well, hello again. So soon, you say? Be happy! This was fast-tracked for your entertainment! I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. Seriously, you guys. You make me smile, laugh and just plain old go "What the Hell?", but still. I love you for it! Thanks so, so, so much for the reviews, guys! You make me happy! It's lovely to hear from you, see you work things out, and I can say, you do get a bit of information in this chapter... IF you know where to look, how to read between the lines and make connections~ And you get your first glimpse of Kaname's not-so-favourite uncle! Yes, you read that right. Need I give you his name? XD_

_Without much further ado, let's reply to some of you guys first, and then I'll let you get right into the chapter!_

**LuanRina: **_As ever, your reviews are lovely! Here's that "more" for you. XD I don't know why this secret is so hard for Kaname to see. Really. It's, like, right in front of your face, Kaname! If only you'd bother to take a closer look! Ahahaha. And yes. Yuki again... I hate the scene between Kaname and Yuki you'll read below, but it's necessary to the plot. Such a pity. Wish I could just kill her already, but noooo. That'll ruin the plot right now. You'll have to wait for that. Oh, but I can promise it'll be WORTH EVERY SECOND of that wait. XD Oh, god. That Cross/Zero scene... I don't even _know_ where that came from, really. But hey, it worked, I think? ...I hope it did, anyway... Haha. I'd pay for the hotel room so you can squeeze Zero to death while Kaname's not looking. Should be worth it, don't you think? *winks* And yes, Kaname really hit that nail on the head when he mentioned the pureblood thing, didn't he? Geez, Kaname. You are so freaking blind! It's rather amusing, really. Hehe. And yes, someone really needed to let the pureblood know _exactly_ what they thought of him, didn't they? About bloody time, too. And ugh, Kaname. I want to smack him. Zero IS NOT a puppet! He's your future/past lover... Okay, that was confusing. XD And yes, Kaname. Keep getting sucked in by all that is Zero Kiryu! Mwuahahaha! Ahem... Here's you more, LuanRina! Enjoy!_

**shebacatb10: **_Oh, yes, Kaname really did, didn't he? But by the gods, he's so freaking blind! Makes me want to slap him sometimes. XD Oh, man. But don't worry. Kaname, and you, will be finding out the specifics of Zero's status. Eventually. (I am so cruel, aren't I?) I keep dropping little hints. It's a wonder you guys don't pick up on them. XD Enjoy!__  
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**chacra: **_Oh, good. So you don't know what I have in store for the future chapters, do you? *eyes suspiciously* I hope you don't. You're sneaky, I'll give you that. XD Mmh, true. And yes, it is/will be somewhat the same for Zero. You'll find out soon enough. Probably within the next couple of chapters, I'm sure. That's if my notes don't need rearranging again. I've done that about three times now. Psh. Heh... Screwed is one way to describe it, indeed. And it'll probably be quite literally by the end of the-whoops... Now you know my secret... Oh, wait. You don't know why that's secret yet! Ahahaha. Err-ignore that. . Oh, don't worry. The Council will make an appearance. I'm not sure _when_ yet, but they'll be turning up, too. Thanks for the review. It is, indeed, hard work, writing these chapters. I had a huge block until I finally got settled in my new place. Lovely fresh country air! It does you wonders. XD_

**irmina: **_Kaname did indeed. But does HE realise that yet? No, probably not. But he will-whenever Zero decided to tell him. Of course, Kaname has to earn Zero's trust first. XD And, again, Zero's secret isn't that hard to figure out. There are hints _everywhere_ now! You should go back and look for them! And I believe he may be equal to, or more so than, Kaname, really. I'll you in on that when the times comes. Something to wait for, no? XD Enjoy the chapter and thanks for the review!  
><em>_  
>Thanks, everyone, for you wonderful reviews! I have two more things to add here before you get to the real chapter, and the first is a huge <em>**warning; Blood and gore (and a little sickly Kaname/Yuki moment) ahead, but I think you can all handle it. And no, he's not dead! Bring on the sadistic vampires. XD**__

_Guys, seriously, I wished I owned it, but in reality? I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others. Now enjoy!  
><em>

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Hunting The Hunter.<strong>

_**That weekend, Zero found himself**_standing at the mouth of an alley, frowning at the area before him. This part of the town seemed deserted, really. And he wasn't sure why. But right now, he didn't give a damn about the Association or their darn orders. He was thinking about the damned pureblood, and the way he'd been avoiding him all week. What was wrong with him? He couldn't ignore the other vampire forever. It just wouldn't work like that. Not at all. He'd have to face Kuran at some point. Hopefully not anytime soon, but he doubted he'd get off so freely after what he'd called the other vampire.

It didn't matter right now, though. Zero was on a mission; he was meant to hunting down level Es. He didn't like it. In fact, he was a little cautious about this. What if another E managed to get their fangs into him? Or just their claws? It would spill his blood, and he already knew there was something wrong with that. His blood _shouldn't_smell like a pureblood. At least, not yet. It was too soon. He hadn't even considered the clause in his curse-the one about a Kiryu and a Kuran. He knew what that clause was, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go through with it, either. He had two choices, really. It was either Kaname...or Rido.

And something told him that going to Rido Kuran would be a very bad idea.

Zero abruptly shook his head, refocusing his attention on the alley. _It's too quiet_, he thought, frowning. Why was he even here? He was a sealed pureblood. He should be going to Kaname, asking him to break his curse.

_So why aren't you?_

Because he was scared-scared that what that clause to break his family's curse demands is too much to give up, scared that Kaname would use him, take advantage of him while he was Awakening. He was scared of commitment, then. That and the fact that what he had to give up was something he might not want to give up. Because, really? His honour, his possible commitment to someone he may or may not love, let alone fall in love with? That was a bit much to ask for, wasn't it?

Zero abruptly jumped, dodging to the side as an E pounced on him. "What the hell?" he exclaimed, eyes wide as he took in the ratty-haired level E. He hadn't even felt the damn E approaching! He went for his gun, gaze firmly fixed on the E. It was a woman. She looked underfed, her ratty hair dark and waist-length. She cackled at him, eyes glowing red.

"You smell sooo good," she hissed, crouching before him. Zero backed up, fast, aiming the Bloody Rose at the woman. She laughed at him. It worried Zero, who kept his gun trained on her as he backed up. "Don't worry," she said, giggling a moment later. "I'm only here to deliver a message." She rose out of the crouch slowly, approaching him slowly. "For my master."

"Stay back," Zero demanded, narrowing his gaze at the E. "What master?" he asked, sure he wouldn't like her answer. She chuckled at him, and for every one step of hers forward, he took two back. "I'm warning you, stay the fuck back and tell me what you mean by master!"

She grinning at him, glowing red eyes seeming to dance with mirth. Suddenly, she lunged at him, and Zero backed up fast. "My master bids you greeting, little Hunter." Zero's eyes went wide and his back abruptly hit something solid. He pressed a hand back against it, felt brick and froze. She had him backed up against a wall, and he couldn't make a run for it. He was sure there'd be more Es around. She inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering closed. "Mmh, I can smell the pureblood." The E told him, eyes flying open. "Tell me, Zero Kiryu, did you fed on pure blood recently or is that your own blood calling out to me?"

"S-shut up!" Zero snapped, glaring at her. She sneered back at him and slammed her hands into the wall of either side of the prefect's head. Zero was suddenly very, very worried. What on earth did he expect when Cross sent him on this mission? No, nothing less than this. He should have known, really.

She inhaled deeply, baring her fangs at him. Zero, suddenly a little scared, pressed back against the wall. "You won't be needed this," she announced, and promptly snatched his gun out of his hand. It was then swiftly tossed over her shoulder, landing with a metallic _clink _a few second later. Zero couldn't see where it landed-not with the E in his face. "That's better," she said cheerfully, leaning in to skim her nose down his neck. "Let's see... Oh yes! My master says you can either come to him, or be stuck with his pitiful nephew." She pressed a chaste kiss to the silver-haired boy's neck and pulled back, grinning again. It seemed she did little more than grin and laugh. "Your choice, he says. He also says that he has plans to execute at the Academy." She started laughing again and straightened up a little more. "He suggests you wake the Princess first, lest she..._disappears_before it's time."

"Get _off _me!" Zero hissed, shoving at the E. He managed to push her off him, sending her stumbling back across the road. She backed up until she stood in the mouth of the alley. Panting (more from worry than exertion), Zero pushed away from the wall, falling into a guard stance. "I don't give a damn about your so-called master! Just leave Yuki out of this!"

The E laughed, sliding into a crouch. There was a glint of light off something metal and suddenly his gun came sliding across the road with a high-pitched metal-against-stone sound. It made Zero cringe slightly. "Let the hunt begin," the E hissed, and suddenly she was gone. The gun hit his foot, but Zero didn't move. He stared, blinking at the mouth of the alley.

Slowly, the prefect crouched down and picked up his gun, checking it over quickly before holding it at the ready, wary of his surroundings. He had a feeling she wasn't gone. Not yet, at least. She was still here.

A high-pitched, startled scream from somewhere to his right had Zero on high alert. He turned on his heel and took off back towards the more populated area of town, trying to pinpoint the location of any level E vampires in the area. He was finding it to be an incredibly difficult task. Something was messy with his Hunter _and _Vampire instincts, making them fuzzy. He couldn't sense the ex-humans. At all. And it worried him. If _he _couldn't sense them, did that mean _Kuran _couldn't either? So much for his so-called pureblood senses-not that he actually had completely control of those at the moment. He still needed to be Awakened for that, but that didn't explain much. Why were his pureblood attributes waxing and waning in the first place? He should have been firmly Hunter!

And then he was bitten by Shizuka Hio, a pureblood. And, according the old Kiryu records, a distantly related one at that. Zero didn't know how to take that in, nor did he know what to think of it, either. It was probably why she 'attacked' his family in the first place. _No, don't think about that!_

Zero abruptly slid to a stop, taking in the scene before him. There was the E, her arms wrapped around a little boy. She was just pulling back, lips stained dark red. Zero glanced from the boy to the ex-human and back. The boy was still alive. He'd have to fight the E fast, then, if he was to save the kid.

"Hey stupid!" he shouted, gun aimed on the back of the E's head. She turned slowly and he watched as she just let the little boy drop. He hit the ground and flopped down. It vaguely reminded Zero of a rag doll, a boneless stuffed toy. Zero's gaze lingered on the boy for a moment before he suddenly had a face full of fangs. He got one shot off before she was on him, barely grazing the E's side.

They struggled briefly before she tossed him into a nearby wall. He hit it hard, back first, and slid down it slowly, wincing. _Damn, that hurt._ It'd been a little while since someone had thrown him into a wall, _with force. _He slouched at the base of the wall for a moment, gaze following the E as she went back to the little boy and lifted him back into her arms. Her mouth went to his still-bleeding neck.

Zero could only watch for several long, agonizing moments as he recovered from the hard impact with a wall. He pushed upright again, watching the E as she abruptly dropped the kid, turning towards him. "Still going?" she asked, head tilted to one side as she studied him. Zero shot her an icy glare. It merely made her laugh. "It's fascinating how you move like a pureblood one moment and then an ex-human Hunter the next... My master likes this observation." She blinked, once, twice, and then she smiled. "He says you are close. Very close. You should really consider going to him. He's very..._considerate_."

"No thanks," Zero spat out, rubbing at the back of his head while keeping his gun up between then, and trained on her. The E raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't care what he offers; it's probably worse than what I've already got, so no. I think I'll be fine as I am for now." _What was I _doing_?_ Talking to an E, having a rather civil conversation! _What the hell? No Level E should be this coherent!_Zero shifted to the side. "Why am I even talking to you, E? You lot are like savage animals; all brawn, no brains."

The E's laughter echoed around the small square there were in. "You are an amusing one," the E commented, and suddenly, one eye were burning blue. Zero stared at it, watching as the E's demeanour changed subtly.

"You...you are not the same being, are you?"

The E cocked her head to one side, eyes burning brightly-one red, one blue. This was not the E from before. This was someone else-even the voice had changed subtly. "Perceptive," the E purred, strolling towards him. "You can see through the façade, then?"

Zero didn't bother to reply, instead keeping a steady pace as he shuffled to his left, one had on the wall for supported. He didn't want to fall over right now, and with the way his head was spinning, he wouldn't be surprised if he did. It would most definitely not be a good idea, not when he was facing down at E that didn't act like any other level E he'd faced.

"I'm going to enjoy tasting you when I'm back in my proper body, little boy," the E said, voice low and menacing. Zero didn't like it one bit. "I'll bet you taste very sweet. After all, Kiryu blood is, indeed, delicious... Will you taste as sweet as you brother, I wonder?"

At the mention of his brother, Zero snapped and lunged forward. "What have you done to Ichiru, you monster?" he demanded, firing off another shot. The E-that-was-not-an-E took a swipe at him, grazing his arm. He had a feeling the thing was only toying with him, playing with its' food before it ate it. The idea disgusted him. "Tell me, damnit! What have you down with my brother?"

The E let out a chilling laugh. "Why," it said, "nothing he didn't want... After all, you are both after the same thing, aren't you?"

Zero abruptly went very pale. If he was talking to who he thought he was talking to... Then Ichiru had done a Very Stupid Thing. He hated to think that his precious little brother-who he had thought dead for a while now-had gone to...to... "Rido Kuran," he said, suddenly realizing exactly who he was speaking to. _The E must be an avatar,_ he thought, gaze narrowed not a glare as the E caught his chin and slammed him back into the wall. He hadn't seen it move. _A host._"Possession," he ground out.

The E chuckled. "Mmh, yes," it mused. "Very perceptive indeed." 

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><p><em><strong>It was late when Kaname decided<strong>_to talk to Yuki. He caught her at the fountain, her head dunked right under the water for some reason. He watched her with vague amusement for a while before approaching her. She seemed...worried about something. Upset, too. She was right to be. He'd caught Aido out talking to some Day Class girls not too long ago. Considering it was the weekend, one would think they'd go into town to watch a movie, but not. Midnight on a Saturday found them out after curfew, and wandering far too close to his vampires for comfort.

His girl, his sister, pulled her head out of the water, shaking it. That was when he decided to make his presence known to her. It was tough, hard, to see he so...unlike a pureblood. So _human_. But he had to be done. He sighed.

"Yuki."

She span around fast, almost falling over in her surprised. "K-Kaname!" She sounded surprised, and Kaname understood. He didn't expect anything less. Not from her, that was. He liked this side of Yuki, but feared it wouldn't stay.

"You forgot the '-sama', Yuki," he stated in mild surprise, eyes a little wider than normal. Yuki blushed and looked down, muttering an apology. Again, he sighed. "No need for that, Yuki," he told her, taking her chin and tipping it up. "We need to talk." He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. He loved her dearly, but not like Juri had loved Haruka.

"O-okay," Yuki mumbled, blush intensifying with his close proximity. He smiled at her, releasing her and putting some space between them. She shuffled one foot about, staring at the ground and biting her lip.

"How are you headaches?" he asked, and she looked up, eyes wide. He'd startled her. Kaname didn't want that. That...that look. It was too much. It _hurt _to look at her when she was acting so damn _human_. She mumbled something and looked down, wringing her hands. A moment later and one snaked up towards her head, where she gripping her hair hard and exhaled shakily. "That bad, huh?"

"They're getting worse, Kaname-sama," Yuki whispered, pained. Kaname had to move closer to her, dropping onto one knee to pull her into his arms. She was trembling, but her arms automatically slid around him.

"I see," was all he said for a long moment. When she began to pull away, he tightened his hold. "I know what's happening to you, Yuki, and I think I can help, but you have to promise not to be scared." He pulled back enough to see her face before he decided on the next question he'd ask her. "What have you been seeing, Yuki?" he asked, very, very softly.

Yuki froze in his arms. "Red," she whispered. "Red _everywhere_." She hesitated before raising her head and meeting his gaze. Kaname stared down at her. There was a flicker of bright red-her pureblood self. He exhaled carefully. "I think it was blood..."

"Oh, Yuki," he whispered back, pulling her into his arms. "I'm so sorry..." He closed his eyes, holding her tight as she began to cry. _So it begins,_he thought. But it was all too soon. Far too soon. 

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><p><em><strong>Zero's breath left him in a rush<strong>_ as the E slammed him back against the wall, snickering. He glared at it-no, _Rido Kuran_. Zero was certain it was the sadistic pureblood now. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. The E, ridden by Rido, pressed him back against the wall with one hand on his shoulder and lifted the other to his head, winding her fingers into his hair. His head was jerked to the side, leaving his neck easy to access. The E leaned down and sank her fangs into his neck, forcing a cry out from between Zero's lips.

And he panicked, dropping his gun and grabbing at the other vampire's wrists, shoulders, _anything _to get it off of him. But it was too late. He was remembering that fateful night, four years ago...when a pureblood had laid waste to his home and his family, and then bitten him. He'd last seen his brother, smirking at him from beyond the skirts of the pureblood woman.

The E, and Rido, pulled back when she heard a quiet sob. _The boy was crying?_The E chuckled, low and dangerous, as it jerked Zero's head back and looked into the boy's eyes. The prefect's eyes were glazed over and silent, unwanted tears coated his cheeks, leaking from his eyes. The E smirked. "Well, well," it murmured, releasing Zero's shoulder to pet his cheek. "What a surprise! The Ice Prince does cry!" Zero struggled weakly in the Rido-ridden-E's grasp, grabbing for a gun that was there. "And it's too bad I can't savour the moment... A pity, really." With that, the E pulled her arm back and plunged her hand into his side, just below his ribs and to the right. Blood spattered the wall and ground in a wide arc. "You'll survive this," it sneered, "but at what price?"

Zero's eyes suddenly came to life as he gasped. He realized what had happened immediately-the E's hand was inside him. He could feel it; long, sharp nails shifting about, as if seeking something. The pain was unbearable, making him inhale sharply. But he couldn't scream-the E had her hand arm his right lung, squeezing it. "L-let...go..." he rasped, voice weak and pleading. The E laughed in his face, releasing the lung and removing her hand without doing further damage.

"Let this remind you, Zero Kiryu," it hissed and then licked the blood off her hand, both eyes back to their normal red. The blue had disappeared-for now. "You should fear what you can't see, more than anything." And then she abruptly exploded into ashes, covering him in thick, choking vampire remains as Zero slid down the wall. His hand found Bloody Rose and he gripped onto her for dear life, choking on the blood that flooded his mouth.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** _Hey guys, here's the next chapter. Don't worry, guys! Zero is alright! (I think...) Anyway, you'll see. I'm sorry this is so short, and I promise the next one will be longer! Man, it's tough looking after two crazy cats. Anyways, here you go. But first, a few questions need to be answered._

**irmina: **_Yup, it sure is. And don't worry; I'll be getting to that part eventually, but not yet. That's a conversation for a later chapter. Oh, Zero was born Sealed. Part of the curse-and he had pretty much full knowledge of what he is, same with his brother. And you're quite right about that. Only a Kuran can break this seal-which isn't exactly what Zero tells the others, but, well, you'll see what I mean when we get to that part. I don't want to rush it too much, or my plot might get a little screwy. Oh, no. Kaname's not gonna marry Yuki or anything. He's kind of just using her? Not nice of him, but he's using Yuki to bait his uncle. Purebloods. I'll never understand them. (Ironic really, considering that I'm writing one. lol) Enjoy!_

**ben4kevin: **_Have _you_ been reading my notes, too? Geez, I swear. I'm going to have to get a lock for my bedroom door-or is it the window you lot are using? You're right on the money, there, but I'm not telling you more than that. You'll have to wait and keep reading to find out. I know, I know, I'm cruel. Enjoy the chapter now!_

**dawn chase: **_Yes, indeed. They'll only grow. Oh, my. Zero is going to be so tormented by the time I'm done with him. I shouldn't tease him so. XD And Zero's Secret s several thousand years old. Pretty much as old as Kaname really is, perhaps older. *winks* You'll see what I mean eventually. Enjoy!_

**Guest - ****Holy son of a biscuit!:** _I'm glad I made your day! And here is the next chapter for you. Haha. Oh, Rido. The Rido-E part. that was my favourite part to write. God, that pureblood is such a crazy jerk. And he has to be all mysterious, I-know-thing-you-don't on Zero, too. *bows* Thank you. I wasn't sure how you guys would take it, but it seems you really like it. I'm glad you do! And yes, Ichiru went to Rido. Oh, my. Why is this, I wonder? Oh, you'll see. (But yes, you're probably right.) And yes, Zero crying. That was a hard part to write. I'm not immune to my own sadistic side, either! Oh, dear. And don't worry. We'll all be seeing more of Rido in the future. Hahaha. And don't worry. Zero's alright! He's not dead. Enjoy!_

**wintereve: **_There is only so much one can ft into a chapter sometimes before it becomes too much or too little. But don't worry, you'll find out why in this chapter. (I think I forgot to mention it in the previous one, but then again, Kaname was a little distracted.) Enjoy the chapter!_

_As for when Zero will reveal that he's a pureblood? Guys, you're so impatient. All in due time, all in due time! Have patience! That part is coming, but not yet. Give it a few more chapters... Okay, maybe more than a few. You might see this by chapter 18, if you're lucky. Remember, I'm only so far into this, and I'm trying not to rush it. Why, you ask? Because I don't want it rushed! You'll see Zero revealing the fact that he's a pureblood when it's time for that scene to pop up. I have plot notes I'm going by, and I'm only on the fifth or sixth plot point; and it takes anything from one chapter to five to go through these points. I'm sorry if it's not fast enough, but you'll just have to bear with it a while longer. I'm getting there! Slowly, but surely. Not to forget mentioning that I do have things I need to be doing other than writing, guys. You're awesome and I love the reviews, but really, curb the impatience for a little while, please? And now, without further ado, here we go with the disclaimed and then the chapter. Enjoy!_

__I really wish I owned it, but in reality? I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others. Now enjoy!_  
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><p><strong>Chapter 8: Blood And Ice.<strong>

_**Aido paced his room, scowling. **_He shared it with Kain, and the vampire in question currently sat on the bed, his eyes following the blonde as he paced backwards and forwards in front of him. Aido had just been scolded by Kaname-again-for pestering the Day Class girls. Really, now. What was he supposed to do? They approached the Moon Dorms oh, so willingly. How could he send them away without a taste?

"Aido..."

The ice-wielding blonde turned on his cousin. "Shut up, Akatsuki!" Hanabusa spat, glaring at his cousin before resuming his pacing. The fire-wielding redhead followed his cousin with narrowed eyes. Why was he acting like this? Hadn't they sorted out Aido's problem with Kiryu a while back? Apparently not.

"You need to sit down before I force you to," Kain comment calmly, watching as Aido flushed and abruptly sat down right beside him. The redhead smiled slightly, just the corner of his lips twitching up. Aido didn't see it.

"He's so rude to Kaname-sama, Kain," the blonde complained, leaning against his cousin and laying his head on the redhead's shoulder. Kain slid an arm around the blonde, who scowled at the wall and flung the other vampire's arm. "He should be punished!"

"Kaname-sama will punish him, Aido," the fire-wielding redhead replied, eyes on his cousin as the blonde stood and stalked towards the door. "If he even wants to punish him, that is."

Aido froze mid-step, hand reaching for the door handle. He _really _wanted to hit something now. How could Kain say that? How could he suggest that Kaname-sama wanted Zero Kiryu to disrespect him? _Stupid, arrogant level D!_ Aido though with a scowl. He turned back to Kain and shot him an icy glare. "How can you even _suggest _that Kaname-sama might possibly have feelings for that filthy level D!"

"Hanabusa, how can you doubt Kaname-sama's wishes?" Kain shot back. Aido couldn't believe his ears. Was he cousin really supporting their pureblood leader in this? Aido was fuming now.

"I don't doubt it!" he snapped, irritated and angry. Kain blinked at him. "I just question his decision for it to be _this_ 'D!" He clenched his hands into fists at his sides. "Kiryu is a Hunter, Kain. A _Hunter! _How do we know that he won't turn on us! Especially when Kaname-sama isn't around!"

Kain sighed, shaking his head. "You don't get it, do you, Aido? Kaname wants Kiryu around. He would have ordered him terminated by now if he didn't, regardless of the Academy's rules-or Yuki's wishes." He stood and approached his cousin slowly, but Aido made no move to reply or discourage him. "I thought we'd solved this issue already, Hanabusa."

Aido slapped his cousin's hand away when the redhead made to reach for him. "Don't touch me," he snapped and backed up a step. Kain didn't move. "I don't care what you thought! What I think is different! And I'm thinking that Kiryu needs to be taught a lesson." He turned and stalked out of the room, muttering to himself about arrogant ex-humans and their lack of respect for purebloods. Kain didn't bother to stop him. 

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><p><em><strong>Kaname sighed, relinquishing Yuki <strong>_to the Headmaster. Cross had his solemn face on again, the very one he wore when things got serious. They stared at each other over Yuki's limp form. She had her head on Cross's shoulder, arms crossed and hand resting in his lap. Cross had one arm beneath her bent knees and the other around her waist. Kaname's gaze dropped to her face, watching as her eyes flickered back and forth beneath her eyelids. He knew what she dreamt; he remembered it vividly. He had been there that night, all those years ago.

"Thank you, Kaname," Cross said, dragging the pureblood from his memories. "I'll look after her for now."

Kaname inclined his head, eyes flickering back to Cross's face. "It won't be long now, Cross," he told the ex-Hunter, brushing a loose strand of hair back behind Yuki's ear. "We'll have to consider doing it soon. She can't stand the nightmares and headaches much longer." The pureblood could feel his neck aching, worse than before. He tried very hard to ignore it. "I saw a glimpse of her pureblood self tonight. It worries me."

Cross nodded, hugging the girl tighter. "I understand," he said, voice soft so as not to wake up the girl in his arms. Yuki stirred but didn't wake. "It's hard on everyone... You know, I think Zero knows." Cross dropped his gaze, taking in Yuki's slight discomfort. "He doesn't say anything, but the way he looks at her sometimes... It's... I don't know how to describe it, really. Perhaps it's like he's worried? I can't always tell."

Kaname chuckled, withdrawing his hand. "Kiryu is a strange boy, that's for sure," he murmured, leaning down to press a chaste kiss to Yuki's forehead. The wind changed, bringing the faint tang of level E ash with it. The pureblood frowned, lifting his head and tilting it slightly into the wind. "Has the boy been out hunting, Kaien?"

Cross blinked, frowning at Kaname for a long moment before deciding to reply. "Yes," he murmured, swiftly following the pureblood's gaze. "I gave him the assignment a few days ago. He told me he'd do it over the weekend. Why do you ask?"

The pureblood was silent for a long moment, before shooting Cross a look. "Take Yuki inside," he told the ex-Hunter. "I can smell something. I think it's Zero." He inhaled and frowned. He could smell pure vampire blood. "That can't be right," he whispered, shooting the Headmaster another look. Cross looked like he wanted to ask Kaname something, but he shut his mouth and retreated into his house, taking Yuki with him. Kaname, meanwhile, slowly made his way towards the gates. 

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><p><em><strong>Zero slumped against the brick wall <strong>_to one side of the Academy gates. He was practically holding his side together, jacket folded so that he could try and stop the huge gaping hole in his side from bleeding too heavily. It didn't seem to be working; the fabric was soaked and he was still bleeding heavily-badly enough that he'd left a rather obvious trail behind him. And even worse? He still smelt like a fucking pureblood.

"Hey, you."

The prefect nearly didn't hear someone shouting at him over the pounding in his skull. Not only was he bleeding to death, but he also had a killer headache. He wasn't surprised; he had been thrown into a wall. Zero drew his gun, pointing it shakily in the vague direction of the voice. "Who's there?" he demanded, cringing when he sounded anything but. He sounded bad, really bad.

"Kiryu."

"What?" he croaked, blinking up at the area before him. His vision blurred as he took in the two blondes coming at him. Or rather, it was only one blonde-a certain ice-wielding one, at that. Zero was seeing double. _Shit, _he thought, blinking slowly at the vampire standing a few feet away from him.

"We need to talk, Kiryu," the blonde demanded. Zero frowned at him, taking in the way the vampire was glaring at him. He knew this vampire, didn't he? "Why does Kaname-sama not punish you? You disrespect him at every turn. You're blatantly rude to him and ignore him-you even act disobedient, even when he asks you to do it for Yuki." The blonde's face twisted into a sneer. "What makes you so damn special?"

"Aido," Zero stated, pushing himself up a little straighter against the wall. "Now is not the time..." As he narrowed his gaze at the ice-wielding blonde, his vision abruptly cleared. Zero bit his lip so he didn't cry out, pressing harder on his wound to try and stop the bleeding.

Aido's gaze went wide and he inhaled deeply. "You're bleeding."

Zero snorted. "So you noticed."

There was a long moment of tense silence as Aido studied the ex-human before he snorted and tossed his head. "I don't care," the blonde announced. "You still need to be punished for disrespecting Kaname-sama!"

The prefect barely had time to dodge the attack as ice flooded across the ground. In fact, he pulled the trigger on Bloody Rose just as he slipped on the blonde's ice. He landed heavily, and a little awkwardly, right hand hitting the ground hard and forcing him to let go of his gun. Bloody Rose slid away from him a few feet. Zero groaned, pressing both hands against his side, lungs burning. One worse than the other.

Aido hesitated when Zero went down. He'd thought the ex-human would try harder to protect himself, but he was strangely surprised to find that Kiryu had gone down so easily, let alone lost his grip on his gun. Zero wasn't paying attention to him; the ex-human lay on the ground, clutching his side. Aido made to approach him.

"That is enough, Hanabusa."

The blonde froze, mid-step. Zero's head came up at the sound of the pureblood's voice. Kaname stepped away from the tree he'd been leaning against while he watched Aido's little antics. He could tell Zero was injured, perhaps badly, just by the way the boy was holding his side. It was definitely not something Aido had done.

"Kaname-sama," Aido whispered, abruptly backing up just as Kaname came to a halt a few steps away from the level D on the ground. Kaname shot the noble a dark look before he crouched in front of Zero. Aido bit his lip, one hand gripping the other by the wrist behind his back, hard.

"Kiryu?" Kaname asked, tilting his head to one side. The boy took a long time to raise his head, and when he did, Kaname noticed that he'd been coughing up blood. That wasn't good. "Are you alright?"

Zero shook his head, pressing even harder on his side. "I lost a lot of blood," the boy muttered. "Fucking psychotic level E..."

"An 'E did this?" Kaname frowned, rising out of his crouch to move closer to the boy and drag him to his feet. "Are you sure?" he asked, putting Zero's back against the brick wall. He took in the growing puddle of blood on the ground. That was very bad. Kaname inhaled again, frowning. "Pureblood?" he muttered, then shook his head. Zero was gripping his sleeve tighter now. "Zero?" Somewhere behind him, he heard Aido make a startled noise.

"Yeah," Zero muttered, eyes slipping closed. "Get...Cross..."

Kanme snorted. "Cross can't help you now, Zero," the pureblood said, gently tugging the boy's hands away from his side. The boy protested weakly, but he insisted, forcing the boy's hands away and peeling back the jacket. Kaname inhaled sharply as he took in the wound. "You said an E did this?" he asked and the boy nodded. "Zero...this is something a pureblood would do."

Zero shot Aido a look and Kaname glanced back. "I know," he said softly, narrowing his gaze at the blonde. "Get rid of him. W-we need to talk." The statement confused Kaname, but he didn't let it show. Instead, he turned back to the noble standing behind him.

"Aido, return to the dorms. Ask Takuma to keep the others settled." Kaname waited for Aido to nod and head back before he refocused his attention on the boy. "What is it?"

"Rido," Zero muttered, tilting his head back against the wall. Kaname froze. "Fucking bastard was riding an E." The pureblood's eyes went wide as he took in Zero's words.

"Possession," Kaname murmured, eyeing the boy's wound. There was a huge hole in his side, and it looked like someone had damaged not only his diaphragm, but part of his lung as well. "That would be my uncle."

Zero laughed without humour, then abruptly started coughing. Kaname pulled back just before he doubled over and began coughing up blood again. He waited patiently while Zero choked on his own blood before the coughing fit finally ceased.

"Done?" the pureblood asked and Zero nodded, wiping at his bloody mouth with the back of one hand.

"I hate it when that happens."

Kaname smothered the smile that threatened to turn up his lips. Zero didn't need to see that right now; the boy was very badly injured. "I don't blame you," Kaname said, keeping his voice down. "You need to feed, immediately." Zero stared at him. "From me would be best."

"No," Zero snapped, protested by giving the pureblood a weak shove. "Not from you...anyone but you."

"Why?" Kaname asked, frowning. Zero shook his head again and the pureblood sighed, probably for the fifth time that night.

"I can't say."

Kaname scowled at him, pulling the boy up straighter and pressing him back against the bricks. "Fine. I wouldn't demand an answer yet, but you must drink." Zero shook his head yet again and Kaname let slip a frustrated noise. "You are impossible, Zero," he said conversationally, propping the boy up with one hand while he raised the other to his neck. "I don't want to force you, but if you keep refusing, I will..."

"Fine!" Zero snapped, biting his lip again. "Fine. I'll drink. But remember my fucking warnings. You might not like what happens...later..." Kaname inclined his head.

"Your warnings are duly noted, Zero," he replied, shifting them both so they were more comfortable. "Now drink. Before the others come to see why there's such a strong scent of pure vampire blood."

Zero didn't waste any more time. He just muttered a quick sorry and sank his fangs into the pureblood's neck. Unlike the last time Zero had drunk from him, Kaname realized this time was a little rushed, but just as intense as before. The boy drank deeply, and he wasn't careful about it either. The pureblood checked on Zero's side, finding it to be closely slowly, but closing none-the-less. That was good. It meant the boy would be okay.

Several minutes later, Zero finally pulled away. Kaname felt weak, but that was alright. He'd seen the mess Rido made of Kiryu's side and he understood. The boy had taken a lot of blood, but he'd needed it. Kaname checked his side again to find it almost completely healed. He nodded and pulled away, wiping at the healing bitemark on his neck.

"Better?" he asked the boy, who nodded. Zero leaned back against the wall, head tilting up so he was looking at the sky, though his eyes were closed. Kaname waited patiently for a moment longer.

"Yeah," the boy muttered, "I think so."

"Good," Kaname murmured and stepped away from the wall. Zero took a moment longer to straighten up. Kaname moved clear of the puddle of blood and waited, eyebrow raised as Zero looked around. The boy grimaced and pushed away from the wall, gingerly stepping out of the pool of blood and onto not-so-red grass.

"Damn," the boy muttered. "What a mess."

The pureblood chuckled. "Indeed. I'll get Aido to clean it up. Maybe Kain, too. Shouldn't take too long."

Zero scowled in Kaname's direction, heaved a sigh and then crossed his arms over his chest. "What about the trial all the way back into town?" he asked, giving Kaname a look of his own. Kaname sighed-the sixth time in one night. He seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Easily fixed," the pureblood muttered. "I'll get Takuma to clean it up."

"Right. I'm going to bed, then." Zero shot Kaname a dark look before he snorted and stalked off, heading back towards the Sun Dorms. He didn't seem to care about his blood-soaked clothes, either. Kaname watched him go. There was something about the boy that bothered him, and he was going to find out sooner, rather than later.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Aido had been watching. He was shocked to see how Kiryu had refused at first, but then he'd given in. They'd talked for a long moment, and now his pureblood leader had a mess to clean up. Aido sighed and decided to approach Kaname. Better to get it over and done with, really. One less mess to clean up that way. Kaname was frowning at the blood and didn't acknowledge Aido's presence for a long moment.

"Kaname-sama, I-"

"Aido. Get this cleaned up. I'm going to find Takuma." Kaname was abrupt and to the point, turning away as he spoke. Aido blinked, looking after him as the pureblood retreated from the area, obviously headed for where Takuma would likely be-the Moon Dorms, trying to control a horde of unruly, bloodthirsty vampires.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/U: **Hey guys. I'm back, and with Chapter 9! Aren't you happy to see me? I must apologize for what I said before about having patience; rereading it, it sounds a little harsh. I'm very sorry; it wasn't meant to sound that way. It was just meant to be a reminder. But guess what? This chapter is Important. I won't tell you why just yet; I'll leave you lot to read it and find out. Enjoy!_

_As usual before the chapter begins, some replies to your reviews._

**LuanRina:**_ Yeah; I had to make sure everyone knew that Kaname didn't like _her. _At least, not at all how it is in the Anime/Manga. She annoys me so damn much. I often consider just not writing her into things, but she is kinda necessary for this, sadly. Y'know, to the plot and whatnot. (At the moment anyway.) *giggles* Oh, Rido. You'll be seeing more of him soon enough. One guess as to who's who in the last scene. Mwuahahaha. And ohdeargod. Kaname is so damned dense, isn't he? I think he thinks it's his own blood-which is silly, really, because DUH KANAME, you know what you blood smells like, don't you? Tsk, tsk. Stupid, stubborn pureblood. And he's about to. Well, at least he's about to put _some_ of the pieces together. (Honestly, Kaname! You're hopeless at the moment.) Thank you; you're quite right. It would have been far too easy to do that. I like how I've done it better, though I'm not completely happy with this chapter... Anyways, yes, he's okay. Thank the gods for that. XD Buuuut for how long? And yesss, I'm impressed that he managed to get back, too. Seriously, though, how? How did he do it? I've no idea. Pureblood speed, maybe? Hehe. Btu yeah, Kaname popped up to help, though it was only after Aido had been an idiot. And his timing always sucks... Hehe. He's such an idiot, too. Duh, Aido. Zero's bleeding, and it took you so long to figure it out? And that he smells like pureblood to boot? I thought you were a genius, Aido. Ahahahaha. Oh, he makes progress alright. Read on and find out! Enjoy!_

**irmina:** _Haha. I wouldn't saying using, but he certainly isn't that interested in her. XD Aido, stubborn? Yup, totally right on that one. He is stubborn. Stubborn and stupid.. Aido and Kaname both at the moment. I can just imagine Aido kissing's Zero's feet when he finds out... Hehe, love the imagery. But I don't think he'll do that straight away... Hmmmmmh. Kaname is kind, and that surprises me slightly. Oh, well. Oh, I wouldn't say Zero accepted Kaname's blood. More of a necessity, really. And the warnings; those will be explained more in future chapters and have been explained before. Haven't you wondered why both Kaname and Takuma had aching necks when Zero was near? But yeah, you're right; it does have something to do with Zero being a pureblood and how that affects Kaname. And yeah, Zero never really hated Kaname and Kaname doesn't really hate Zero; it's mostly a big misunderstanding, I think. I don't know where love comes into this yet. Probably in a few months. I know Kaname cares for Zero's wellbeing. He wouldn't have offered Zero his blood if he didn't. Yes, Aido is blind. Kain does need to keep his cousin in line, doesn't he? XD And I think Aido is humiliated enough; he did have to clean up Zero's blood with Takuma's help. Cleaning; so not something that Aido would do. Hehe. And no, Kaname doesn't know _yet_ but he probably will by the end of this chapter. ._

**AzaryaTsuki:**_Thank you for the review. I'm glad you seem to like the way I write. Yeah, I noticed that myself. I've been meaning to fix it, but I've been sooo busy. It's ridiculous and annoying, not having time to fix these chapter properly. I know I could make time, but at the moment, I'm very busy. Sounds like an excuse, but it's true. Real Life is packed. I didn't realise I'd left out the second 'a' in Hanabusa's name. I'm sure I spelt it right; might be my keyboard. Not all of my keys seem to want to work properly. I must remember to double check these chapters before I post them to make sure things are spelt correctly and I'm not missing words and/or letters out, etc. I do check these, but sometimes you overlook things. Thank you very much for the review! Glad you like this so far; enjoy and keep checking back!I'm hoping to update more often if I can._

**chacra: **_Sorry, I didn't mean for that to sound bad or anything. I was a little frustrated when I posted the last chapter; Real Life gets seriously annoy sometimes. Haha. Yes, Kaname is a little dense at the moment. i'll try to correct that! (Seriously, where's the arrogant pureblood we all know and love? XD) Is Aido really a problem, I wonder? Hmmm.. Hahaha. Zero was injured; Kaname was more worried about healing him than interrogating him about Rido. And Yuki has her own problems; her seal is cracking. Just something to think about... Anyways, enjoy the chapter!_

**I only have one warning for this and that's _Confusion_. **Some of what happens here may be confusing, but I hope to answer it soon enough! You'll just have to wait and see, though. *grins and gestures below* Enjoy the chapter!

___I do not own Vampire Knight or the characters. I wish I did, but sadly, I don't. The plot and any Original Characters are the only things that do belong to me. I do not write this for any personal gain, but purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of others. Now enjoy!___

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: Dreaming Of Legends.<strong>

**Kaname knew this was a dream**_-and he knew it was not his own, either. The colours were too bright, too vivid. They clashed sharply, the blue of the sky stark against the green and brown of the grass and trees. Beside him, stood Zero. Kaname knew it was him, but this Zero was...different. He couldn't place a finger on it, couldn't understand how the boy was different, he just was. Both were watching a scene unfold._

_"What is it?" Kaname asked, glancing towards the younger prefect. Zero didn't reply, and it worried the pureblood. Sure, it was a dream, but this didn't seem like the boy's normal behaviour...not that his behaviour was normal in the first place. "Zero?"_

___The boy's gaze flickered towards him briefly before returning to the scene before them. "Watch," was all the boy said. So Kaname did as he was bid and returned his attention to what they were watching._

___Before them stood a pureblood. The man had silver hair and lavender eyes, and he looked a lot like Zero-only older. Kaname didn't understand._ Who was this man, this vampire? _Kaname's gaze went back to Zero, but the boy wasn't watching him. "What is this, Zero?" he asked, reaching out to touch him, but the boy jerked away, back out of reach. "Zero, please tell me. What is going on here?!"_

___Zero hissed at him. "Shut up and watch, Kuran. You'll find out soon enough. Now stop asking questions."_

___Kaname blinked, staring at the boy before glancing back towards the pureblood. The vampire was talking to a smaller group, but Kaname couldn't tell if they were human or vampire, or something else entirely. Slowly, the bright red of blood drew Kaname's attention to a young lady off to one side. He stared; she looked familiar. He knew this lady. She was a pureblood; a vampire... He remembered her face from when he was with her, all those years ago._

___"Zero-"_

___"-shut up, Kuran!"_

___Kaname abruptly shut his mouth, then opened it a moment later. "Zero...I know that woman."_

___Zero glanced at him. "The one of the ground, covered in blood?" Kaname nodded and the silver-haired boy snorted. "Figures. I...know her too." The boy crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "I hate this part," he muttered, looking away slightly, yet still hopelessly watching._

___Kaname went back to watching the scene, snatching Zero by the wrist and tugging him in close. He held him in front of him as he leaned forwards, putting his lips by the boy's right ear. "You had better explain all of this to me when we wake up," the pureblood warned in a low tone._

___Zero jerked, as if stung and tried to twist out of Kaname's grip. "H-how did you know this was a dream?"_

___"It's obvious," Kaname told him as the group turned on the silver-haired pureblood. Zero went still as they rushed the man. "You would have pulled that gun on me if this weren't." And the prefect had to acknowledge that it was the truth; he couldn't deny it. Mainly because Kaname was right, and Zero would be lying if he said anything different._

___"J-just shut up and watch, damnit," Zero whispered, standing stiffly in Kaname's grip. "I hate this part..."_

___"You've said that already," Kaname reminded him. The reply was a snort and the pureblood decided to humour the boy; he shut up and watched. The pureblood who looked so much like Zero just stood there. He was speaking, but none of the words reached Kaname, although he had a feeling Zero could hear every single word. At least, if the way the boy was shaking was anything to go by, then Kaname was sure he could._

___The group shifted, and the pureblood went still, as if he suddenly knew that they weren't listening to him, weren't heeding his words. Kaname exhaled, watching as the man glanced towards the woman. He suddenly realised there was a village behind her, and next to her a boiling vat of metal. His eyes went wide. Kaname knew what this was..._

___"Zero...do you-" he began, only to be cut off by Zero yet again._

___"Yes," the boy breathed, the words barely heard by Kaname. "I know."_

___Kaname inclined his head and pulled away from Zero slightly, watching again. The pureblood spoke again, and Zero inhaled sharply. Kaname didn't ask him what the man had said; he didn't need to. It was painted on every face in that group. He'd said something...wrong. Something bad. Something that the group he now knew to be hunters didn't like. And he was going to pay for it._

___A woman stepped forward from near the back of the group, which parted before her. Her hair was pale, silvery. She looked a lot like the pureblood, but Kaname could tell she was human-no. _Hunter_. The pureblood went very, very still when she appeared, and then backed up a step as she spoke. This time, Kaname could hear every word._

___"You are going to destroy everything we have created if you do this,_ vampire_," she spat, face twisted in disgust. The pair could see that from where they stood, and Kaname briefly considered asking Zero if he wanted to move closer before discarding the thought. Zero was shaking in his arms, as if he were crying. "You cannot seriously be suggesting this-"_

___The pureblood cut her off, saying something that he couldn't hear. Kaname strained his ears to hear the vampire's voice, but still heard nothing. What kind of dream was this? What was he meant to understand if he couldn't hear everything that was said? He sighed, unconsciously tightening his hold on Zero, who shifted slightly, as if uncomfortable. At that moment, the silver-haired pureblood doubled over, as if in pain. And then he collapsed, and Kaname knew that he wasn't exactly vampire anymore. He frowned, taking in the scene. The silver-haired man was bleeding from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. He could see that it-blood-was even leaking from the man's very skins; from his pores. The sight was slightly disturbing, but he found that he couldn't look away from the growing puddle of blood that was quickly surrounding the man._

___And it was then that he saw the man's face properly, instead of a mere glimpse. He was stunned to find that that face was almost identical to Zero's. He looked down at the boy, who was stock still in shock and more than a little fear. Kaname's gaze was questioning, but Zero did not look away from the pureblood who was bleeding all over the ground. "Zero..."_

___Footsteps cut him off and he looked up to see himself walk into the clearly. Kaname's gaze went wide. What the- He didn't remember this. Not one moment of it. But then again, he still didn't have all of his memories from before, did he?_

___"Don't," Zero whispered, clutching onto him. "Just don't-"_

___Kaname watched as his past self knelt beside the silver-haired pureblood-turned-human. He seemed to study the man for a long moment before looking up, directly at the group of hunters, and especially at the woman. And then he snarled, launching himself at them. One word made Kaname's past self freeze in mid-step; "Kaname."_

___It shocked not only himself, but apparently shocked Zero, too. Kaname's gaze dropped to the silver-haired boy in arms as the prefect spoke. "I...never saw past the collapsing point," the boy muttered, shifting again. Kaname could see that his cheeks were faintly dusted with pink. The boy was blushing. He blinked; that was a new one. "But...I never...thought I'd see...you..."_

__Kaname abruptly woke up. He was panting, covered in sweat and spent a good long minute staring up at the canopy of his bed, trying to figure out the dream. _That...had really been Zero. _But the pureblood. He didn't-wait. He did remember. He knew who this man was...what he had been to him... The pureblood's eyes fell closed.

_"Kaname!" That vaguely familiar male voice again. He felt arms wrap around him, and clearly they were not unwelcome. Kaname remembered this; they were familiar, and that the person those arms belonged to was also familiar-if it weren't for the fact that he hadn't seen the face yet. "Isn't it wonderful?" The tone was low, seductive. It sent a lovely little shiver down his spine. Warms lips and hot breath brushed past his ear._

__He winced, shifting to sit up, his eyes opened again._ You shouldn't tempt me so, Hidenka. _Kaname leaned back against the head of his bed, arms resting on his knees. It couldn't be... It just couldn't. _A glint of silver-grey, dark amethyst-fuchsia. _Kaname rubbed a hand over his face. That could not be possible. "Masaru," he muttered into that hand. "It's not possible. You did something stupid, didn't you?"

A knock on his door brought the pureblood's head up. "Kaname-sama, are you awake?"

He sighed, smiling slightly and called for Takuma to come in. It wouldn't be possible, could it? The Kiryu weren't purebloods. Not at all. They were a very old, very well-know Hunter family. It was impossible for them to be vampires. Kaname would have known. Should have known, really. He dragged his fingers through his hair. He was overthinking things; that had to be it. Either that, or he was having some really weird dreams...in conjunction with Kiryu, to boot.

"-aname? Kaname? Are you listening, Kaname?"

The pureblood blinked and focused on his friend. "Yes, Takuma?" he asked, tilting his head to one side as he took in the blonde noble's appearance. He noted that there was a new hickey on the other vampire's neck that was fading fast. Kaname decided not to comment on it. Takuma looked ruffled enough as it is. "What it is?"

The blonde paused, blinking at Kaname for a long moment. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed and produced an envelope. Kaname's gaze narrowed. "You have another letter from the Council..."

"Hand it over, then," Kaname muttered, exhaling steadily. He waited patiently as Takuma approached the bed and held out the damned thing. He hated this, hated the constant bullshit the council threw at him, hated that he couldn't do anything with them in control. But he knew they wouldn't be; not for long, anyway. "Thank you, Takuma," he murmured as he accepted the letter and proceeded to open it.

The paper disintegrated a moment later. Takuma watched on, worried, as Kaname shook his hands to get rid of anything that might have been left behind. "What was it, Kaname?" he asked, curiousity getting the better of them.

Kaname barely even glanced towards him. "The sooner I get rid of them, the better." 

* * *

><p><em><strong>Meanwhile, elsewhere in the academy<strong>_**,** Zero was in a start of pure terror. Kaname knew. He knew now, but did he really understand it all? The prefect wasn't sure. All he did know was that Kaname had seen it. The stupid bastard had seen exactly what Zero had seen. He knew there were going to be consequences, but he didn't realise that they were going to be...be _this!_The bloody dream-sharing. He didn't think he could handle it. It was almost too much-for both of them.

"He can't...find out yet," Zero muttered, hugging his knees to his chest. "It's too soon..." _But if you don't tell him..._Zero dreaded what might happen if he told the stupid pureblood nothing. Kaname had told him he had better explain when they woke up, and Zero was sure he'd make good on that threat, too. The ex-human flinched. No. He'd have to tell him. He couldn't risk not telling him. It was important. The stupid vampire might need him.

Zero exhaled on a long sigh and decided it would be best to just get up. It was the very early hours of the morning, but he could not longer sleep. He was actually surprised that Kaname was even sleeping during the night. The pureblood must have been really tired if he'd been asleep at this hour. Or, at least, Zero hoped that was the case...and that he hadn't dragged the stupid vampire down into the dream for some reason or another.

The prefect sighed and went about getting dressed. It was pointless to stay in bed now. There was no way in hell that he was going to get any more sleep right now. He might as well go for a walk around the grounds and make sure there were no stupid Day Class girls attempting to sneak over to the Moon Dorms. The last thing they needed was another incident with Aido. That, and the Night Class's secret being revealed. That was a no-no; the humans weren't ready for that yet. 

* * *

><p><em><strong>Kaname found the boy <strong>_on the banks of the lake. It was where he'd found him last time. Only this time, the boy didn't point a gun at him. In fact, it was almost like the prefect had been expecting him. Kaname decided to approach him slowly and warily, none-the-less. The last thing he needed was to be hit with an anti-vampire weapon, gun or no gun.

"Kiryu?" he called, coming to a stop a few steps away from the boy. He'd sorted out the business of the Council letter with Takuma a while ago, but had been stuck punishing Aido afterwards and could only now come to find the boy. The day had passed and now it was late afternoon. His vampires would be getting ready to go to class soon, but Kaname had other, more pressing matters to attend to. Namely the boy in front of him.

"Oh, so it's 'Kiryu' now?" Zero did not turn towards him, and Kaname scowled at his back. "Last name basis again, Kuran? I thought you were calling me by my first name." This time, the boy turned towards him. "At least, that's what you've been doing lately." Wary eyes met his and Kaname froze. "Come to scold me for something?" A long pause as they stared at each other. "Or have you come to pry the meaning of our shared dream out of me?"

Kaname sighed. "That is not what I intended, Zero," he told him sternly. "I merely want to know what that...scene was all about. You told me very little, and I barely remember it anyway..." He frowned then, shifting his gaze towards the ground. He felt Zero's gaze on him now, burning into him as if it were a brand. Kaname had never felt so unsure before. Abruptly, he looked up. "Zero, I demand to know the truth; your blood smelt like pureblood before, your scent sometimes comes across as pureblood. You say the strangest things, give warnings that don't make sense. I want to know the truth; I want to know what you're hiding. I demand it...please. You can tell me."

Zero's gaze met his, and Kaname wasn't surprised to see the anger in it. He waited, watching as the boy's expression went from mildly angry, to extremely furious. He didn't know why his request upset the boy so much. It was only a request-perhaps the word 'demand' wa too much? Probably, he decided. Clearly, though, Zero did not like to be forced into things. He took a step towards Kaname, keeping his pace slow and steady.

"Are you sure you want to know, Kuran?" the boy snapped, eyes flickering towards red. If Kaname didn't know any better, he would have thought he'd just pissed off another pureblood. But he knew this boy was merely an ex-human...right? "Are you sure you want the truth? Trust me, Kaname. You might not like it." Kaname nodded once, sharply and Zero exhaled on a long, shaky breath. "Alright, then," he said, and it was if all that anger melted away. "You want to know why my blood and my scent sometimes smelt like pureblood? You want to know why I warned you when it made no sense?" Zero sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Kaname saw a glimpse of the boy's gun as he raised his him and then dropped it. "You want to know what I'm hiding? Fine, I'll tell you." Here, the boy paused again, for a very long time. They studied each other, as if sizing one another up. It was a distinctly pureblood thing to do, Kaname decided. "I'm a pureblood, Kaname," the boy told him, voice soft. "My entire family is. We-are-were all sealed, every single one of us. That's the big secret, Kaname; I'm a Sealed fucking Pureblood. Happy now?"

The boy turned away, his face twisted into a grimace. Kaname could only stare at him as it registered slowly. _Zero is a pureblood vampire?_he thought, eyes wide as he took in Zero. And then he finally took note of his memories, of the dream-the pureblood woman, the hunters and finally the one who looked so much like Zero, and himself. "Masaru," Kaname whispered and watched as the boy went still, his back stiff as a rod.

He spoke without turning around. "Where did you hear that name?"

Kaname snorted, and replied, "I think it's more prudent to ask _when_, not _where_." He deliberately kept his tone quiet, despite now knowing that the boy was a Sealed Pureblood. How the hell was he going to figure out that one? Zero was only what, seventeen? Eighteen? Kaname knew it was something like that, somewhere around that age. If the boy was a pureblood... No, it was impossible. Kaname had known since he'd met the boy that he was a ex-human-a hunter turned vampire by some sadistic pureblood. _Then why did that sound like an idiotic idea now?_Kaname wasn't sure. Instead, he fixed Zero with a confused look. "Besides, how is that possible? You've never registered as pureblood to my senses."

Zero laughed, a short, barking laugh that had Kaname flinched. "You have got to be kidding me," the boy muttered, shaking his head. He turned back to Kaname, grimacing again. "Too obvious, idiot. Of course I would never have registered. It's part of the curse on the entire Kiryu clan. We were never originally Hunters, Kaname." The pureblood gave him a look that clearly told him to explain, and explain _now_. Zero obliged. "The dream; do you remember the pureblood you saw?" Kaname nodded; he felt like he was doing that a lot, too. "That was Masaru Kiryu. My Ancestor-the pureblood. He did something stupid, pissed off some Hunter woman and got cursed for his trouble. Every single child he had, regardless of who it was with-hunter, human, vampire-was born a Sealed Pureblood. And so it has been ever since."

"So the attack on your parents...?"

"Was an attempt to wipe out my clan." Zero's gaze abruptly went wide as he realised how much he'd said. Kaname blinked at him, wondering why the boy looked worried now. "I've said too much," Zero blurted, one hand shooting up to smother his mouth. "Oh-god-I-shouldn't-have-said-that..." The sentence was muffled and spoken so fast that it ran together, but Kaname could still make out what he'd said. Eyes wide, the boy stared at him; Kaname thought he looked scared. Then, without another word, the boy turned and fled. Kaname stood looking off in the direction that Zero had disappeared in, shocked. He hadn't expected _that _kind of answer.

Unbeknownst to either of them, someone had been in the shadow of the nearby forest, watching and waiting. And they had heard every word. They knew their master would be pleased to hear this-not two purebloods, but three of them in one place! Two of which were still sealed! Oh, how the master would love to hear that! It would only be a matter of time now. There were so very many plans to put into motion...


End file.
